


First Love BS

by Harlee_Quinn



Series: Jaxene Universe [3]
Category: Sons of Anarchy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-29
Updated: 2013-12-29
Packaged: 2018-01-06 13:54:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 30,358
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1107639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harlee_Quinn/pseuds/Harlee_Quinn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Teen Jolene finds out that first and only love isn't easy. Waiting for Jax to come to his senses regarding his on/off again romance with Tara Knowles is pissing her off to no end, but she is determined to hold her ground.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. First Love Sux

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sons of Anarchy.**

* * *

Looking out her bedroom window, Jolene Morrow huffed as she saw the love of her life blithely walking down the Teller-Morrow walkway. Waiting for him in her father's black 1975 Cutlass Supreme was his girlfriend, Tara Knowles. Jolene was unconsciously biting her thumbnail down to the quick as she watched Jax open the door and jump into the passenger seat as the car's radio blared out Nirvana.

"God, this is like, what, their third date this week? When is he going to buy a freaking clue?" Jolene griped.

Hearing Jolene complain—again, her best friend, Donna Lerner flopped back on her bed dramatically and rolled her eyes.

_Oh, please God, not again._

Donna loved Jolene dearly, but she was convinced that her friend had crossed the border from an infatuated pre-teen into obsessed stalker with regard to the man that was the center of her universe—Jackson Teller.

Almost six months shy of her 15th birthday, the petite girl with warm brown eyes and shoulder length sable-colored hair rolled onto her side to observe her BFF. Jolene was sitting on the window seat of her bedroom as she stared out into the street with a stormy expression on her face. Wearing a ratty pair of shorts and an oversized SAMCRO t-shirt that did absolutely nothing for her boyishly slim figure, Jolene looked more like the grease monkey she took immense pride in being than a girl of nearly 13.

Donna and Jolene had become the best of friends during Donna's last year in middle school after Ronnie Armstrong, Jolene's closest female friend, had relocated to Seattle with her family. The two girls were tight even though Donna was now a freshman in high school and Jolene was in the seventh grade. In spite of being from two different worlds—Donna, the product of a middle-class background and Jolene, the product of the MC world—the two girls managed to become close friends and confidantes. As a result, they spent practically every waking moment together. That is, unless Jolene was stalking her prey, her extremely sexy older, and relatively new, stepbrother.

Jax's mother, Gemma Teller, had recently married Jolene's father, Clay Morrow. Clay had assumed the presidency of the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club Redwood Original upon the untimely death of Gemma's first husband John "JT" Teller. Even though Jolene had grown to love Gemma over the years, even before she and Clay hooked up, Jolene was still on the fence about having a stepmother. Jolene, who had never felt loved by her own mother, wasn't too keen on sharing her father with another woman. Uncle Elvis had tried selling her the whole "one, big happy family" scenario, but Jolene wasn't buying it. She would have preferred that things stay just the way they had been since she had come to Charming, but even Jolene had to admit that she had never seen her father happier. If she was forced to endure a situation not of her own making, at the very least there had to be a bright side. With the newly blended family moving in together under one roof, now Jolene had unlimited access to Jax, who she refused to refer to as her "stepbrother".

 _And I can't blame her in the least_ , Donna thought.

After all, Jackson was freaking hot and the new step-siblings had a very close relationship that had spanned the length of time that Jolene had lived in Charming. But taking into consideration the four-year age difference between them and her friend's tomboyish looks, a far cry from the curvaceous girls Jax always had hanging off of him, Donna knew that Jolene was living in denial and finally decided to say as much.

"You know it can never happen between you two, right?"

Jolene's entire body whipped around to face her best friend. "What the hell are you talking about?" Jolene moved away from the window as Tara's car roared off in the distance. Plopping herself on her bed next to Donna, she gave her friend an evil look.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about." Donna said exasperated. "Jo, you are in denial and I'm not talking about the river in Egypt, either."

"Funny." Jolene replied witheringly. "I see you came prepared with bad jokes at my expense." Flinging herself back on her bed, Jolene stared at the ceiling.

Pulling herself up so that she could see Jolene's face, Donna retorted, "Okay, maybe that _was_ a little lame, but I'm not making fun of you, Jo. I'm trying to help you see reality here." Jolene rolled her eyes, but her best friend paid no attention. "Jax sees you only as his little sister and, from what you've told me, that's all you've ever been to him since you came to Charming."

"Don't you think I know that?" Jolene said angrily.

"Well, if you know it, why are you still mooning over him? Why not be real with yourself about the situation? Find someone your own age?"

Jolene draped her forearm over her eyes and sighed. "We've been through all this, D. Jax and I are made for each other. I know this like I know I need air to survive." Jolene replied stubbornly. "Why bother subjecting myself to any of those hormonal, pimple-faced losers who skeeve me out beyond belief when I've already found the love of my life? Why should I settle for anything less when I know Jax is my destiny?"

Donna sighed. Her best friend sure did have a flair for the dramatic. "Knowing" something and it not having a snowball's chance in hell were two completely different things. In spite of having grown up together, Jax and Jolene were worlds apart. Jax, already 6'1" with a sinewy, chiseled physique at 16, was extremely well-known and liked among Charming's female population. Even Donna, whose experience with the opposite sex was probably more limited than Jolene's herself, knew that Jax had more than just a few notches on his bedpost. He oozed raw sexuality even without a motorcycle. Jax and his best friend Opie Winston were in the process of rebuilding a couple of Harleys and Donna just knew that Jax on a bike would be almost too much to bear. Regardless of age, shape, or size, the women of Charming would be dropping their panties all over town with just one look. Even at 16, there was no way anyone could ever classify all that hotness as a boy. Jax just screamed all man and the type of man that knew his way around a woman's body, no less.

Jolene, on the other hand, although almost a teenager, was light years away from hitting puberty. Over a foot shorter than Jax, Jolene was probably 80 pounds soaking wet and nary a curve to speak of. She did have beautifully thick and shiny ebony hair and wide seafoam green eyes that were the envy of every girl they knew, but Jolene wasn't interested in making these attributes work for her. Jolene's daily wardrobe of choice consisted of jeans, a t-shirt, and black steel-toed boots. When at the garage, she would change it up a little by throwing on a T-M work shirt. She usually kept all that luxurious hair pulled into a ponytail underneath a Reaper Crew cap she had won from Jax by completing a dare to steal a swig of her father's beer at the dinner table.

After years of having Jax and Opie all to herself, Jolene had recently started inviting Donna to hang out with them as a group. The foursome had enjoyed a lot of good times together and now having the opportunity to observe Jax up close, it was completely obvious to Donna why Jolene had such a huge crush on him. Not only was he damn near perfect he was so beautiful, but he was funny, charismatic, and easy-going. He also had a smile that could make any girl forget to breathe.

Although Jolene was convinced that her infatuation with Jax was a well-guarded secret that she had only shared with her Uncle Elvis and now Donna, you either had to be blind, or Jolene's father, not to see it. Even though none of her father's brothers ever acknowledged knowing to Jolene, Jax did receive his fair share of ribbing in the Clubhouse. He played along, sometimes acting embarrassed and sometimes even mad because of all the shit he got from the members of SAMCRO. In reality, Jax was somewhat flattered and even though Jolene was four years younger and now his stepsister, Jax never discouraged her crush and, in fact, harbored special feelings for Jolene.

Aside from Jax and Opie, Jolene had been Tommy Teller's constant companion during the last two years of his life. By the time Jolene had settled into life in Charming, Tommy was mostly bedridden and couldn't attend school. Gemma, who had wanted to make life for her severely sick little boy as normal as possible, home-schooled Tommy starting when he and Jolene were six and would have been in the same first grade class together. Not wanting Tommy to have to go through the experience alone, Jolene had managed to convince her father to let Gemma home-school her as well.

Tommy and Jolene quickly became the best of friends and the young girl with the huge, sad green eyes soon became one of Jax's favorite people. Tommy had been the first child that Jolene had allowed herself to grow close to and had come to love him very much. Jax and Jolene spent many hours together playing with and entertaining Tommy in his bedroom or at the hospital when he had been too sick to go without round the clock medical care. As a result, she had developed a close bond with both Tommy and Jax and, as far as Jax was concerned, anyone who could make his little brother laugh and bring the color back into his cheeks would always hold a special place in his heart.

When the little boy finally died, everyone had been concerned with Tommy's immediate family and the pain they were suffering, especially his parents, and Jolene seemed to get swept to the wayside, no one taking into consideration that she was grieving as well. No one, except Jax. Twelve year old Jax took eight year old Jolene under his wing and they cried on each other's shoulders, comforting each other as best as two young children could.

But Donna didn't know all that. Jolene, Jax, and Opie, the closest of all the SAMCRO children and progeny of the First 9, rarely spoke about Tommy and what they had all been through together, except with each other.

Since hitting puberty, Jax never suffered from the lack of female company, but he didn't have any female friends. Except for Jolene, and Donna didn't know that either. Ope was his best friend, his brother from another mother, but there was only so much Jax would share with another boy his own age. Sometimes he needed a sympathetic female ear to listen to his woes and he sure as hell wasn't going to his mother. She already had an uncanny ability to get inside his head, he didn't need to invite her in further. And Jax wasn't naïve. Although he enjoyed reaping the benefits of his popularity among the women in the Clubhouse and the girls at school, he knew that anyone that easy to coax onto their backs wasn't interested in what was going through his mind. Even though he knew that Jolene's opinions and advice could be tainted by the feelings she believed she harbored for him in secret, he still valued what she had to say, because like Gemma, Jolene was usually dead on.

But Donna, more concerned with protecting her young friend's heart, didn't see all that. However, Jolene did and that's why Jolene knew that right now Jax was "sowing his wild oats," as Uncle Elvis would say, but eventually he would come around. He had to because even though his body was his to share as he saw fit, _for now_ , his heart belonged only to her.

He just didn't know it yet.

And neither did Donna and that's why she was hell-bent on making Jolene drink the Kool-Aid that would wake her up to the fact that Jax would never look at her in the way that she wanted. Donna hated to bring it up, but she thought it was time that Jolene came down from the clouds and into reality.

"Why would he be interested in any other girl now that he's involved with—"

"DON'T say her name!" Jolene covered her ears. "D, you know damn well that her name is not to be spoken in this room, and if you _must_ make any reference to the bane of my existence, you can only call her NP, which, hopefully, will soon be nothing but OP. Get me?"

Sighing, Donna shook her head at her friend. NP as in "New Pussy" and OP as in "Old Pussy". Her friend really needed to get a grip.

At 16, Tara Knowles had everything going for her physically that Jolene didn't. She had looks and a seriously tight and curvy body. More importantly, however, Tara had the one thing that Jolene didn't. Jax Teller.

While Jolene hated to admit it, she knew that the older girl had a lot to offer. She wasn't like any of the stank hoes Jax had hanging off of him at any given moment. It was sickening to see the croweaters and sweetbutts just lining up to bed the sixteen year old, even though he wasn't even a patched member yet. Disgusting, yes, but Jolene could deal with them because she knew they were forgotten the moment they pulled up their thongs.

But Tara was different. She didn't carry herself like so many of the ho-bags that Jax had been involved with. A straight-A student, Tara had the reputation of being smart and a hard worker. She exuded a certain amount of class and had a reputation of being a good girl, which was probably what had initially attracted Jax to her in the first place. Typical bad boy that he was, Jax was always up for the challenge of corrupting any nice girl that crossed his path. The fact that she also had an alcoholic father gave her a damsel-in-distress air about her that was totally irresistible to Jax. Damaged goods in need of rescuing were his Kryptonite. It surprised everyone, except Jolene and Gemma, for that matter, that Jax had succumbed to Tara's wiles and, for nearly six months, she was the only girl that was on his radar.

And it was driving Jolene freaking nuts!

Jolene had confided in her Uncle Elvis when she was ten years old that she knew Jax Teller was her destiny. One day, she and Jax would be together, she would be wearing his patch, and she would be his old lady, the only old lady he would ever need. But ever since Jax had come home from school one day, extolling the virtues of Tara Knowles, Jolene had been fighting hard to maintain a firm grip on her destiny.

The problem was that Jax was blinded by all of Tara's fine qualities, which Jolene would begrudgingly admit she had a few. The fact remained that Tara was all wrong for Jax. Tara was far too delicate a flower to deal with the realities of MC life. She was too much of a damsel in distress and a little too needy. Although on the surface she appeared to be a tough chick, and had acquired herself a rap sheet since hooking up with Jax to prove it, Jolene knew that it was all hot air. When the real shit hit the fan, and it almost always did when you lived the Life, Tara wasn't strong enough to prop Jax up and would fall like a house of cards in the face of adversity.

Jolene looked at her best friend. She knew that Donna meant well, but she simply just didn't understand and at this point she saw no reason to enlighten her further. Despite the fact that NP seemed to be embedded in Jax's life, Jolene was no where near ready to give up.

_One day, Jax Teller will be my old man. You can take that to the bank!_

* * *

"Damn it!" Jolene exclaimed as she fussed with the showerhead to no avail.

The shower was acting up again and she was going to be late for school. Standing in her bathroom, wearing a terry cloth robe and sporting serious bed head, Jolene contemplated her situation.

When they had first moved into the new house, Jolene was excited that she would have her own en suite bathroom, but it had been in need of some major work. Gemma had a plumber gut the room and replace the old moldy tub with a brand new shower and tile work. Gemma then proceeded to go to town redecorating the interior. The result was the girliest-looking nightmare Jolene could ever imagine, but Gemma had meant well and at least she had her own bathroom.

Unfortunately, it had been giving her a problem the last couple of days and she had forgotten to mention it to Gemma. Now, thanks to the damn snooze button, Jolene had less than an hour to get ready for school when the shower finally decided to die on her. She could hear the pipes clanging in the wall, but only a trickle of water dribbled out of the showerhead. Shrugging her shoulders, Jolene sleepily rubbed her eyes and headed towards the bathroom across the hall from Jax's room. As Jolene went to grab the knob, the door suddenly opened.

Simply put, Jolene was not prepared. Not at all.

As a gust of hot air and steam rolled out, Jax stood in the doorway. With a small towel barely covering his assets and his upper body still wet from his shower, Jax made a striking picture.

"Good Morning, little darlin'," Jax tried suppressing a smile in reaction to the open-mouthed expression on her face. No response. "Are you a'ight?"

Jax heard Jolene swallow the large lump in her throat. "Uh, yeah, uh, my shower. . ." Jolene trailed off, her eyes glazing over as they danced over the hard sinewy pecks and, against her will, trailed down his torso to his incredible six-pack.

Rubbing a hand across the bottom of his face to hide a grin, Jax said, "What? I didn't catch that."

Jolene's inner voice couldn't believe what was happening.

_Girl, get your thumb out of your ass and get a frickin' grip before he catches you drooling._

Shaking herself free from the spell a half-naked Jax had put her under, Jolene tried again. "Uh, my shower doesn't seem to be working, so I thought I would, uh, use this one."

Jax smiled and stepped aside to give her entrance. "Well, it's all yours now. Sorry I steamed it up for you."

As Jax walked away, a wide-eyed Jolene turned her head to follow his retreating form. How was it humanly possible to look that good going as well as coming? Biting her lip, she had only one thought in her head.

_There was no need for you to turn on the hot water, baby. You could steam up a room all by yourself!_

Jolene stumbled into the bathroom and closed the door behind her. Wiping down the fogged-up mirror over the sink with her hand, she caught a glimpse of her flaming red cheeks.

"Holy shit!" Jolene exclaimed as she sat on the edge of the tub and fanned herself with the pair of clean panties in her hand. "What a way to wake up in the morning!"

She most definitely owed her dad and Gemma a debt of gratitude for getting hitched.

_Who knew there would be so many benefits to living with Jax?_

* * *

Crouched next to his motorcycle, Jax was removing the last of the old spark plugs on his bike while Opie looked on. It was a surprisingly warm Saturday afternoon for a spring day and since business was a little slow in the garage, Jax had decided to spend some time working on his ride.

Jax and Opie worked part-time at the garage after school and on weekends. It was a great opportunity to learn the automotive trade and since both hoped to one day prospect with the Club, working along side other Club members helped set them apart from regular hang-arounds.

For the most part, Jax and Opie were self-taught amateur mechanics and had already put their knowledge of motorcycle repair to good use shortly after Jax's father had died. JT had been hit by a semi-truck and dragged 178 yards before dying two days later in the hospital. After the funeral, a grieving Jax had decided to rebuild his father's Panhead as a memorial to him. With Opie's source at a junk yard in Lodi, they had been able to scrounge around for old bike parts to use in the rebuild. Under the direction of Clay and Big Otto, Jax and Opie spent six months restoring the beautiful teal bike to its glory.

JT's bike was now showcased in an alcove in the Clubhouse with a framed picture of JT resting on the seat.

Proud of their accomplishment, Jax and Opie had decided that it was time that they build their own bikes. They had spent many weekends crammed into the cab of Piney's pick-up, with Jolene in the middle, searching high and low all over NorCal before finding what they wanted. Opie found his bike, a Softail Fat Boy, through his hook-up in Lodi. He bought it for next to nothing because it was basically just a shell. Jax, on the other hand, found a used Dyna-Super Glide Sport in Modesto, which he bought off the ex-wife of a weekend warrior. She had gotten the bike as part of her divorce settlement and it had been sitting in her backyard, exposed to the elements and untouched for over five years.

Both bikes had needed some serious work to get them in working condition again and the boys spent every spare moment at the garage working on their rides. The Club was in their blood and they were eager to heed the call of the open road.

As the sun beat down on Jax's well-muscled and currently shirtless back, a nearly breathless Jolene squatted down next to him. Dressed in her customary attire for a Saturday afternoon—or any afternoon for that matter—of worn jeans and grease stained T-M work shirt with "Jo" imprinted on the pocket and her wild mane kept barely under control by the ponytail tucked into her backwards cap, Jolene looked less like a girl and more like the tomboy grease monkey that Jax had known for nearly seven years.

"You know, you're gonna strip the head right off that plug." She advised.

"Jo, I know what I'm doing." Jax scoffed as he continued to turn the spark plug with a wrench. "It's fine."

Opie peered over Jax's shoulder. "Uh, actually, I think she's right, bro."

Jax was about to retort that Opie didn't know shit, when the wrench slipped off of the spark plug and slammed on the thumb of his left hand. Throwing down the wrench, Jax quickly wrapped his hand around his sore digit.

"Damn it!" He growled through gritted, yet perfect and pearly white teeth, Jolene noted.

As he saw to his bruised thumb, Jolene tried to pay him no attention as she busied herself examining the spark plug.

"Yup, it's been stripped all right. Why don't you go put some ice on that, while I fix this?" Jolene snarked, trying to do the best she could to hide the fact that she was about to pass out from seeing her bare-chested golden god in all his manly glory.

Looking down at Jolene, Jax unconsciously reached out and grabbed an errant silky soft stray curl that had slipped out from beneath her cap and tucked it behind her ear.

"Like you know so much." He shot back with a half-smile. Turning away, Jax headed to the Clubhouse for some ice.

Opie smiled to himself as he watched the pain in the ass girl he loved like a little sister staring dreamily at Jax's retreating back.

"You might want to put your eyes back in your head if you're gonna change that plug." Opie said mildly. "My advice, take a picture. It'll last longer."

"Shut your pie hole, Sasquatch." Jolene said gruffly as her face turned a delicate shade of pink. _Besides a picture wouldn't do Jax justice. I'd need a full-size poster to put above my bed!_ "Why don't you pretend to be productive and hand me that wrench?"

By the time Jax returned, Jolene had removed the stripped plug and had installed the rest of them. "Go ahead, give it a try."

Cocking his head at her, Jax swung a leg over his ride. As he turned the key and gunned the motor, the Dyna-Glide's engine purred to life.

"Hey, not bad, little darlin'." He winked at her. "Not bad at all."

Jolene smiled like a mental patient as she headed across the lot to help her father, who was threatening to put some asshole in a headlock for misplacing his favorite wrench.

 _Just one step at a time_ , she thought. _One step at a time._

* * *

Sitting in St. Thomas' waiting room of the third floor surgical suite, Jolene tried to deal with her restless leg syndrome. Tucked into a corner by the swinging doors leading to an area off-limits to visitors, Jolene sat with Gemma while her archenemy sat in one of plastic chairs directly opposite them.

Jolene could do very little to conceal the fact that she was staring daggers at NP, who, in her opinion, was the reason they were here in the first place. Jolene had spent the last two hours equally fantasizing about beating up the little bitch and worrying about Jax.

Jolene crossed her arms underneath her non-existent bosom and ground her teeth when she thought about the events that resulted in her spending the afternoon in the hospital.

It was only the second day of the summer break and Jolene had been stuck at the lot. Normally, she would never mind hanging out at the garage. In fact, Tig had planned on showing her how to change a transmission, which she had been nagging him to do for ages. However, when she got a last minute invite to hang out with Jax and Opie at the streams, she was ready to drop Tig like a bad habit.

That is, until Opie revealed that Jax's girlfriend was going too and would be riding with Jax, while Jolene rode with Opie. At that revelation, Jolene suddenly "remembered" her session with Tig and declined to join the party. There was no way that she was going to spend the day watching Miss Perfect and Boring riding on the back of Jax's bike, while clinging to his hard, muscled chest. Jolene couldn't bear the thought of watching NP carrying on with him all afternoon.

But maybe if she had, she might have been able to stop the events of that afternoon. Jax, wanting to show off his riding skills in front of Tara, had lost control of his bike and went head first 30 yards into a ravine and broke his collarbone. Opie, who was unable to rescue Jax by himself, had to leave him behind with a hysterical Tara while he went for help.

 _I knew that when the chips were down, NP would fall to pieces_ , Jolene thought vehemently.

While it had taken only twenty minutes riding at top speed to get back to Charming and to get an ambulance back to the site, it had taken almost forty minutes to extract Jax from the ravine and then rush him to St. Thomas.

Now, as she sat during the second hour of Jax's surgery, Jolene felt guilty that she had abandoned him because of her pride. She blamed herself for what had happened and said as much to her stepmother.

Gemma sighed and put an arm around the upset girl. "It wasn't your fault, baby girl." She said, using Clay's term of endearment for his daughter.

 _It was that bitch over there he was showboating for_ , Gemma thought bitterly.

When Opie had rolled into the lot peeling tires, Gemma had known immediately that something was wrong. Having spent the better part of her youngest son's life in the hospital, her fear had been very real that she was about to lose her remaining son.

It had taken Clay's strong and quieting presence to settle her down. Now, she was trying her best to control her own anxiety and comfort her stepdaughter as they anxiously waited for Clay, who had left the waiting room to see if there was any news on the surgery.

Just then, Clay and Dr. McDermott, the orthopedic surgeon handling Jax's case, entered the waiting room. All three women leapt to their feet as the two men approached them.

The middle-aged doctor, who was wearing green surgical scrubs, held out a hand to Gemma, who by this time found herself wrapped securely in one of Clay's arms, with his other one wrapped around Jolene.

"Mrs. Morrow, I'm happy to report that the surgery went well." As Gemma let out a sigh of relief, the doctor continued to detail the aspects of the surgery and Jax's expected recovery. "It's going to be a bit difficult and uncomfortable for him as he needs to wear the cast for most of the summer. The type of break he suffered will require him to be completely immobile. No movement whatsoever. He's going to be totally dependent on others to care for him and see to his basic necessities. You may want to consider getting a professional, like a home attendant or nurse to help if you feel you're unable to cope with the demands of his day-to-day care by yourself."

Jolene immediately chimed in, looking up at her father. "Jax is not gonna want some stranger taking care of him. I can help, especially while Gemma's at the garage."

Looking at Jolene, Tara felt her eye twitch. "Mr. and Mrs. Morrow, as Jax's _girlfriend_ , I want you to know that I definitely want to help take care of him as well."

"Well, that might not be for the best," Jolene spoke up before Clay or Gemma had the chance to open their mouths. "Dr. McDermott said 'completely immobile', that means no movement whatsoever."

 _That means no nookie for you!_ Jolene smiled to herself. _Ahhh, every cloud does have a silver lining_!

"I know what 'completely immobile' means." Tara shot back.

"Of course, you do, but just in case, let me use it in a sentence. 'Tara stood completely immobile while Jax writhed in pain in the ravine'." Jolene retorted, fighting the urge to stick her tongue out for emphasis.

Gemma bit her lip to keep herself from smiling as Tara's eyes widened in shock. Although Gemma had no love for the girl, she was a little disappointed that Tara had no snappy comeback to put the young teen in her place as Jax's girlfriend.

_No doubt the girl is soft, letting herself get bullied by a newly 13 year old._

Quirking an eyebrow at his daughter, Clay spoke up, hoping to forestall an argument between the two young women. "Thanks, Doc. As Jax's parents, my wife and I will make sure he gets the best care possible."

"When can we see him?" Gemma asked anxiously.

"He'll be in recovery for about an hour, but once he's moved to a room, one of the nurses will come and get you so that you may see your son."

* * *

It was the hottest summer in Charming that anyone could ever remember. Instead of enjoying her time off from school with her friends, including Donna, Jolene spent all summer taking care of Jax. Even though Jax tended to get cranky every now and again over his enforced lock down, Jolene was still happy to do it.

The first couple of weeks into his recovery, Jax's bedroom resembled a bustling Grand Central Terminal with a constant parade of visitors from school, the garage, and the Clubhouse. But as summer roared on, his daily roster of visitors slowly trickled down until it was just Opie and NP. Jolene, however, never left his side, except of course, when Gemma got ready to give him a sponge bath. Then Gemma would almost have to drop-kick her through the door in order to get Jolene out of the room. In hindsight, Jolene knew it was for the best because she wasn't sure if she could handle giving Jax a sponge bath without passing out cold.

Dr. McDermott had been very serious about Jax's total and complete immobility. The heavy plaster cast ran the length of his torso and completely encased his entire right arm and, as a result, Jax was unable to move without assistance. Being totally dependent on others irked him beyond reason, but Jolene did her best to keep him entertained and amused. Jax felt guilty and responsible for ruining her summer vacation, but the fact was, except for the part where Jax got hurt, this was the best summer of Jolene's young life. For the most part, she had Jax's undivided attention and Jolene milked it for all it was worth.

And best of all, Gemma seemed to be on her side as far as the Tara issue was concerned. Although Tara had tried to usurp her way into the Teller-Morrow household, Gemma had told her, and in Jolene's opinion rather politely, that her services would not be needed. Without an excuse to hang around Jax all summer, Tara had taken a part-time job at a bookstore-slash-coffee house on Main in downtown Charming. Although Tara did visit him everyday, and once there, she would almost have to be asked to leave, Gemma insisted that Jolene sit in as a more-than-willing chaperone. Gemma was nobody's fool and she wasn't going to have her son permanently disabled for not healing properly just because his girlfriend refused to let him keep it in his pants.

Today, like clockwork, Tara made her way to the Teller-Morrow house to visit Jax once she finished her shift at the bookstore. After giving Jax a suck-the-tongue-out-of-his-head kiss, which made Jolene roll her eyes, Tara re-adjusted his pillow and pulled a bag out of her backpack to reveal a loaded burger from Nicky's diner that she had brought for the sickly patient. Before a more-than-willing Jax could take it, Jolene quickly snatched the bag out of Tara's hands and summarily dumped it in the garbage can next to Jax's desk.

"Sorry, Jax," She said insincerely. "But Gemma doesn't want you having overly fatty foods."

"Gemma's not here." Jax reminded her with a clenched jaw.

With a hand on her bony hip, Jolene cocked her head at Jax. "Do we really have to discuss your last bout of constipation in mixed company?"

Before Jax could reply, Tara jumped in. "You're really enjoying this aren't you?"

"Are you asking me if I enjoy seeing Jax uncomfortable and miserable?" Jolene asked and before Tara could respond, continued. "No, I do not, but you feed him that greasy burger and I'll have no choice but to witness his discomfort and misery when he can't move his bowels." Jolene replied as she re-adjusted his pillow so that he would be more comfortable.

Jax sighed as the pressure on his back was relieved at the proper placement of his pillow. As he looked at the two angry young women, he chuckled to himself, thinking that in spite of the fact that Jolene was just barely a teenager, it was kind of hot to see his girlfriend and his stepsister fighting over him. It certainly gave him something else to think about other than how he had completely ruined his plans for the summer.

Jax bitterly regretted his little stunt that had turned him into a prisoner of his own making. After he and Opie had finally finished rebuilding their bikes in time for summer break, they had planned a number of road trips for just the two of them to take.

Jax absolutely loved the freedom of being on the open road. In addition to exploring NorCal to a greater extent, they had planned on taking Uncle Jury up on his invitation and make their first real road trip to Indian Hills. Jax had not seen Jury since his father's funeral and they had been looking forward to getting together under happier circumstances. Not to mention that Uncle Jury had offered them free range over his stable of girls.

In Charming, Jax would never consider cheating on his girl, but Indian Hills wasn't Charming. It was the road and what happened on a run, stayed on a run.

Instead, Jax had spent the last six weeks trapped in his room, practically unable to do anything for himself and with another four weeks to go, entertainment was pretty thin. If it weren't for Jolene and Opie, he probably would have lost his mind, especially as his mother was doing everything possible to keep his girlfriend at arm's length, which meant that he was currently one horny bastard.

Tara, seeing that she was not going to make any headway with Jolene on guard, finally left. Happy that the bitch was gone, Jolene quickly propped herself up next to Jax on his bed and pulled out an old hardcover book of essays that had belonged to his father.

Reading in a low voice, Jolene read the words written by Emma Goldman.

_"Anarchism... stands for liberation of the human mind from the dominion of religion; the liberation of the human body from the dominion of property; liberation from shackles and restraint of government. Anarchism stands for social order based on the free grouping of individuals . . . that will guarantee to every human being free access to the earth and full enjoyment of the necessities of life, according to individual desires, tastes, and inclinations."_

After finishing, Jolene closed the book. "Wow."

Jax nodded. "Pretty deep, huh?"

"Absolutely." Jolene marveled. "I remember hearing JT quoting it verbatim all the time."

"It was how my dad tried to live his life. He told me once that he read it many years ago, but not in a book. He was my age when he went hiking near the Nevada border and it was painted in red on a wall." Jax sighed. "Ope and me, we were gonna go find it together this summer and I fucked it all up."

Jolene reached over and, although nervous, brushed a lock of his golden hair behind his ear. "I'm really sorry this happened to you, Jax, but it's not going anywhere. You'll be able to see it, stand in the same spot and read those same words that changed your father's life, and you _will_ feel that connection to him again."

Jax looked at Jolene in wonder. That she, at her age, could pinpoint exactly what he was feeling and that she understood him amazed Jax. They had always been close, but over the last six weeks, Jax had come to realize just how much Jolene had grown up.

They had spent Jax's enforced imprisonment talking about their goals and aspirations. Jax shared his hopes of following in his father's footsteps and finally becoming a patch, while Jolene dreamt of being a teacher, but worried about not being smart enough to get into college.

She wasn't your typical 13-year old. Sometimes, the things that came out of her mouth made you forget that she was barely a teenager. Clay would say that Jolene was too smart for own good, but he would usually say that when she was cracking wise and being a general pain in the ass. In Jax's opinion, it was refreshing to know a teenage girl that wasn't as dumb as shit and that had interests outside whatever it was that teenage girls found fascinating.

That was one of the reasons Tara had been the first girl his own age that he had ever seriously dated. Watching Jolene thumbing through his father's book, looking for another essay to read, Jax came to the realization that Jolene had set the standard that Tara had met by proving that girls you could actually talk to and have meaningful conversations with existed out there.

When he really thought about it, Jax came to the stunning conclusion that, in a lot of ways, he felt closer to Jolene than he did with Tara.

_How weird is that?_


	2. First 'Ho Down

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sons of Anarchy.**

* * *

In spite of the cool Fall evening, Gemma and Luann were sitting in their customary spot at the picnic table watching the drunken antics of several members playing out on the lot in the midst of an after-Church party. Luann nudged Gemma in the ribs with her elbow, causing Gemma to nearly push her off the table.

"Look." Luann indicated toward the line of bikes near the Clubhouse.

Seeing her son practically chewing his girlfriend's tongue out of her mouth, Gemma shook her head.

_This one's lasted longer than a pair of his boxers, which he's always misplacing. The little man-whore!_

Finally pulling apart, Jax climbed on his bike, followed by Tara, and practically tore out of the parking lot.

"I betcha I know what they're heading off to do." Luann teased in a sing-song voice, knowing all too well Gemma's distaste for Jax's girlfriend.

"Aw shit," Gemma grumbled. "And for the sake of my son's health and the state of my furniture, they better not be heading to my house to do it in, either."

"Really? In your house?" Luann asked, swallowing the rest of her beer.

"If I know my Jax, he probably teleported home and is halfway done dragging that girl up to his room."

Luann snorted. "He sure has balls, that one."

"Yes, he does. I don't know how long he'll be able to hang onto them, though, especially with Jolene in the house tonight." Gemma smirked as she lit a cigarette.

Luann wrinkled her nose. "What happened to her sleepover at Donna's?"

"Canceled. Some unexpected houseguests dropped by for the weekend."

"And you didn't bother to share this bit of Intel with your son?"

"Why should I? He knows better than to bring his little fuck buddies into my house and, if he doesn't, he most certainly will know now."

"Oh, God." Luann squealed. Luann Delaney, Big Otto's wife, was just one of the many who was well aware of Jolene's infatuation with all things Jackson. "Jo is gonna lose her shit."

"Oh, most definitely." Gemma agreed, wickedly.

_And I am so counting on it._

* * *

Jolene was about to fall off into dreamland when she heard a strange noise. Lying motionless and stiff as a board, her eyes wide and her ears open, she nearly fell out of her bed when she heard it again. As the noise got louder and louder, she realized with terror that someone was in the house with her.

Living alone with her father for so many years, Jolene had been accustomed to being home alone for certain periods of time. Clay would do his best to make sure that Jolene was never alone for an extended amount of time, but on the rare occasion she was, Jolene was never afraid or felt unsafe in their small home that was walking distance from the Clubhouse.

Now that Clay had married Gemma and had relocated their family into a huge house in an exclusive part of town, Jolene never liked being home alone. Although warm and inviting when crowded with the people she loved, the house was creepy and spooky when she was all alone in her room in the dark. Having honed her sixth sense to clue her in when something just didn't feel right while living with her mother that was exactly the feeling she was having right now.

Quickly slipping out of her bed, Jolene tried to remain calm as she contemplated her situation. She didn't have a phone in her room, so she couldn't call for help from there. Her parents' bedroom was on the opposite side of the stairs and she was afraid that she would never make it down the hallway to cross over the landing to their room without being heard. There was also the possibility that the thieves were already in there searching for valuables.

Jolene stripped off her nightgown and quickly pulled on the pair of cargo pants and oversized t-shirt that she had carelessly thrown on the chair in the corner of her bedroom. Opening her closet door, Jolene dug around until she felt the long wooden bat she kept from her days of playing softball and closed the door softly.

Standing at her doorway, which she always left open whenever she was alone in the house, the hallway was pitch dark, except for the moonlight that shone through the skylight that was at the opposite end of the hall, near the stairs. Creeping very slowly, Jolene headed towards the stairs.

 _If I can get downstairs to the back door, I can get to one of the neighbors for help_ , she thought.

Suddenly, Jolene stopped dead in her tracks as she heard the noises that had woken her up once again. What sounded like grunting and moaning was getting louder and louder. Jolene reasoned that the thieves must be lifting something heavy, but almost flew into a panic when she realized that they were going _up_ the stairs, not _down_.

Without warning, two bodies came hurtling around the corner and, terrified, Jolene lifted her bat and started swinging. Narrowly missing the head of one of the intruders, Jolene started yelling at the top of her lungs.

"Get the hell out of my house, you low-life piece of shit! You don't mess with SAMCRO!"

Swinging the bat again, it crashed into one of Gemma's favorite vases, which shattered into a million pieces, the sound just adding to the chorus of screaming and cursing in the darkened hallway. Jolene managed to shove one of her attackers with her hip, sending them crashing into the wall before falling in a heap on the floor. As a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind, Jolene threw her right arm up and her elbow connected solidly with someone's face, followed by a wet, crunchy sound. Pulling herself away from her attacker, who was screaming like a girl, by the way, Jolene whirled around and brought the bat up so that she could follow through with a blow that would hopefully crack their skull like a walnut.

"Oh, shit!. Wait! Wait, damn it!" A voice shouted in the darkness.

_A very familiar voice._

"Who the fuck is that?" Jolene nearly screamed, the bat still up in the air.

"It's me, damn it! Jax!"

Jolene's feet nearly went out from under her as she dropped the bat. Staggering on her feet, Jolene dragged herself to the end of the hall and switched on the hall light.

And there, sitting on the floor was her stepbrother, and he wasn't alone. He had his arm around Tara Knowles, who was holding her nose as it spewed blood that was dripping through her fingers.

_Holy shit!_

* * *

"This is all your fuckin' fault." Clay Morrow pointed a ringed finger at his stepson, while Gemma grimly tried to wipe the blood off of Tara's face to better assess the damage.

"I already know that!" Jax retorted. "In spite of your need to say it ten times, I managed to catch it the first time around!"

The mood was grim in the Teller-Morrow dining room. Sitting at the table, a quietly sobbing Tara was being administered to by Gemma, a first aid kit lying open on the table between them. An angry Jax was sitting next to her, holding her hand, and doing his best to comfort his girlfriend. Directly across from them sat Jolene with her father standing at her side.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news," Gemma lied. "But I'm pretty sure your nose is broken."

_That's my girl!_

The phone call Gemma had received about half an hour ago at the Clubhouse had not been unexpected. Jax was agitated and Gemma just knew he was calling to report on the ugly scene that had taken place between him and his stepsister. But nothing, _nothing_ , could have prepared Gemma for the epic beat down that had actually taken place.

Unfortunately, Gemma had been sitting with Clay when she got the call and now, she was going to have to do major damage control to prevent the situation from escalating into a full-scale brawl between her son and her new husband.

"Baby," Gemma turned to Clay. "I know you are upset—"

"You're damn right I'm upset." Clay nearly bellowed. "Your son and his ga—" Clay caught himself and then continued. " _Friend_ scared the living shit out of my baby girl."

"That justifies her breaking my nose?" Tara was incredulous. "Look at me!"

"You're lucky she didn't kill you! Had she gotten that Glock like she wanted for Christmas, we wouldn't be having this conversation right now! You sneaking into my house justifies Jolene defending herself. She's not in the wrong here. This is all on you," Clay pointed to Tara. "And especially, you!" He barked at Jax.

Already feeling miserable for spooking Jolene, who in turn busted his girl's nose, Jax's temper flared. He leapt to his feet, fists clenched and, as Clay moved towards him, Gemma jumped up to stop the two from taking it further. "That's enough!"

As silence descended in the dining room, it took everything Jolene had not to jump out of her chair, pump her fist in the air, and let out a war whoop of victory over her sworn enemy.

Turning on the hallway light to see Tara lying on the floor practically bleeding out had been awesome. She only wished she could yell it from the rooftops and couldn't wait to get to the lot tomorrow so she could tell her Uncle Elvis.

_Donna is going to shit a brick!_

Turning back to the scene in the kitchen, Gemma had managed to get Jax to back off and return to his seat next to Tara. Putting her hand on her husband's shoulder, Gemma said, "I think we can agree that this was an unfortunate accident and that no one can really be held to blame for what happened." Stroking Clay's cheek, Gemma said, "Right, baby?"

Clay looked into his wife's eyes and looked down at Jolene, who seemed to be quite calm. Seeing that relaxed calmness finally brought down Clay's ire. "I guess so." He replied reluctantly. Putting an arm around Jolene's shoulder, he gave her a tender squeeze. "Are you sure you're okay, baby girl?"

Jolene smiled up at her father. "I'm fine, Daddy."

Looking at her husband, Gemma nodded at Tara. "Maybe you have something you might want to say?"

Clay sighed. _This being a new family shit was going to kill me._

But Clay knew how fortunate he was that Gemma had allowed herself to find love for a second time and with him, no less. He knew his old lady wanted the situation resolved with as little bloodshed as possible. Lord knows, Jolene had shed enough blood for all of them. Although Clay was still extremely pissed, with his daughter whole, he saw no reason to take it any further.

Clay looked at Jax and Tara. "I'm sorry if I said anything out of line. I guess emotions are running a little high right now."

Jax nodded and got up from his end of the table and walked around to Clay. Holding out his hand, Jax said, "I'm very sorry that this happened, Clay. I didn't know Jo was home and I hope you realize that I would never deliberately put her in danger."

Looking at Jax's outstretched hand, Clay sighed softly. He had known Jax as a young boy and had watched him grow into the young man that was standing before him now. He knew JT's boy was a good kid, just as obsessed with getting laid as were most boys his age. Remembering the warm spot his baby girl had for both Teller boys, who had made her feel at home in Charming since day one, Clay decided to let bygones be bygones. Clay took Jax's hand and shook it, accepting his apology.

Jax then turned to Jolene. Squatting next to her, Jax rested on his haunches. Bringing his hand up to stroke the side of her face softly, he found his fingers drawn like a magnet to her long dark hair, which was as soft as silk to his touch.

"I'm really sorry, little darlin'. You have to know I would never do anything to hurt you, right?"

Looking at him with wide, doe eyes, Jolene trembled at Jax's touch and was barely able to reply as her heart soared in her chest. "I know you wouldn't." She said softly.

Seeing the obvious affection between the stepsiblings, Tara made an effort to be conciliatory. "I'm sorry as well." Directing her next comment to Jolene, "I never meant to scare you."

Breaking eye contact as Jax stood up, Jolene nodded but didn't reply.

Gemma's eyebrows quirked. "Jolene, don't you have something you want to say?"

 _Not really_.

Seeing Gemma's eyes boring into hers, Jolene relented. Looking at Tara, she said, "I'm sorry, too."

Tara narrowed her eyes. _No she isn't!_

Jolene looked directly into Tara's eyes. _No I'm not!_

* * *

Jax wasn't in the best of moods as he parked his bike in his spot on the lot the following afternoon. Last night had been a comedy of errors, but no one was laughing, least of all him. He was angry with himself, feeling guilty that Tara had gotten hurt on his watch. He had never thought that the possibility existed that she would be attacked in his own home.

A Friday night gone down the drain because, instead of rocking her world in his bed, Jax had spent the early hours of Saturday morning holding Tara's hand as she waited her turn in St. Thomas' emergency room. The only bright spot had been that Tara's father had been working the overnight shift over at the industrial factory in Lodi, so the drunk bastard had no clue that his daughter had not spent the night in her bed. In retrospect, with her old man working two towns over, Jax realized that they should have chosen Tara's bedroom for their private party last night instead. It was what they usually did on nights like that, but this time Tara had insisted that she wanted to make love to him in his room.

As he entered the Clubhouse, he could tell from all the crooked grins on the faces of the Club members that word had spread on last night's main event at the Teller-Morrow residence.

He was in for it now.

Jax had barely cleared the Clubhouse entrance when a voice cried out from the pool table, "Hey, Jackie Boy! I guess ya mad at me for teaching our 'lil luvvie a couple of moves. I dinna think it would put such a crimp in your plans last night!"

Laughter filled the Clubhouse. But the jokes didn't stop there. "More like put a crimp on his dick! Good thing Doll Face stopped when she did, otherwise he'd be nutless for sure." Tig snarked.

Jax stood still as he was subject to insult after insult as each patch tore into him. And standing there with a pool cue in her hands, looking like she was begging the earth to open up and swallow her whole, was the bane of his existence, Jolene Morrow.

As the brothers continued to razz Jax, Jolene's heart tightened in her chest with each barb thrown at him. She was starting to feel awful, almost sick to her stomach, about ratting him out. Initially, her only intention had been to share the epic nose-smashing beat down with her Uncle Elvis. After all, he was her special confidant.

While Jolene knew that her father loved her dearly and would do anything for her, she had a special relationship with Bobby. She knew she could share anything and everything with her uncle and not only would he never tell a soul, but he would lovingly give her the best advice he could. He would listen to her as she blathered on and on about her dreams and aspirations, especially concerning a certain young blond biker. Even though Jolene was sure that he felt she was setting the bar pretty high, he never shot down her feelings, instead encouraging her to set goals and to work hard to achieve them.

It was late morning that Saturday when Jolene strolled into the Clubhouse to discover Uncle Elvis in a serious baking mood. He had just pulled her favorite blueberry muffins out from the oven. As they sat at a table, Jolene slathered butter on a warm muffin as her mouth ran a mile a minute, giving Bobby a dramatic blow-by-blow account of what she called her first "ho down." When Chibs and Tig entered the Clubhouse and tried to join the conversation, Jolene quickly pulled back in the telling. But as Tig and Chibs kept egging her on, Jolene got increasingly bolder. When the late-to-the-party stragglers, Piney and Big Otto showed up and started piling on the encouragement, Jolene finally lost control and had actually hammed up the storytelling until the entire Clubhouse was roaring with laughter.

Last night, Jax had felt true gut-wrenching remorse from having scared a home-alone Jolene half to death, but as he stood in the middle of the Main Room, seeing her biting her lip and practically shaking in her boots, it was obvious Jolene had been the one to drop the one ton dime on his ass. Suddenly, with his feelings of regret gone, all that remained was his anger.

Jax cut loose. "Yeah, whatever. She probably knew it was me all along. Who knew I was living with a bat-wielding, cock-blocking psycho brat!" The moment the words left his mouth, Jax regretted it, but it was too late.

The Clubhouse was suddenly silent as Jax's statement hung in the air.

Jolene felt the tears stinging the back of her eyes, but refused to cut them loose. Even though Jolene knew she was solely responsible for the ribbing Jax was getting, her pride wouldn't allow her to own up to it. Instead of apologizing, her wounded animal instinct kicked to the forefront and she bit back.

"I guess being the Prince means never having to own up to your mistakes, especially when there's a psycho brat around to pin them on." Jolene threw her pool cue down on the table and stomped out of the Clubhouse.

Bobby, carrying a pan of banana bread fresh out of the oven, entered the Main Room just in time to hear Jax flinging abuse at Jolene and Jolene kicking it right back. Dropping the pan on the bar, Bobby slowly walked up to him and put a hand still wearing an oven mitt on Jax's shoulder.

"Son, I suggest you go make that right with Kit before you have some serious issues in this Clubhouse."

Observing the grim faces of the brothers who had witnessed the ugly exchange, Jax sighed. Completely and thoroughly ashamed of himself, Jax nodded and walked out of the Clubhouse to find Jolene.

Finding her didn't take long at all because she was sitting on the picnic table right outside the Clubhouse. Wearing an oversized T-M work shirt, a pair of faded ripped jeans, and battered work boots, Jolene was doing her best to hide the fact that she was crying.

Jax climbed onto the table and sat down next to her, their denim clad legs touching. Not saying anything as Jolene delicately sniffed, he dug into the pocket of his leather motorcycle jacket. Pulling out a blue bandana, he handed it to her. Not making eye contact with Jax, Jolene took it from him, wiped her eyes and blew her nose loudly, several times and tried handing it back to him.

"You don't really think I want that back do you?" Jax teased, causing Jolene to snort.

Reaching over, Jax put his arm around her shoulders. Pulling her into him so that she rested in the crook of his arm, he kissed Jolene softly on the frontal lobe.

"I'm sorry, little darlin'. That was completely uncalled for."

Desperately trying to recover from the shock of practically being in Jax's arms, never mind him kissing her, Jolene breathlessly replied, "It sure was."

Not really noticing the effect he was having on her, Jax asked incredulously, "And what about you, huh? Was it fair telling everyone in the Clubhouse what happened last night?"

Finally breathing normally, Jolene knew the answer to that and decided to own up to it. "No, it wasn't. I'm sorry, too." Jolene held out a hand. "Truce?"

"Truce." Jax took her hand in his and squeezed it gently before releasing it. Then, using his right hand, he pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Keeping his left arm wrapped around her, Jax managed to light a smoke with one hand. She watched him with wide eyes, in complete awe and extremely delighted to still be practically snuggled in her man's arms.

_God, wait until I tell D!_

Turning back to the matter at hand, Jolene pointed to Jax's cigarette. "When did you start doing that?"

"A while now."

"You better not let Gemma catch you." Jolene said, getting a little breathless again as she realized that his perfectly-shaped lips were a breath away from her face.

"Don't you worry," Jax smiled. "I can handle my mom."

Jolene rolled her eyes. "So how's your girlfriend?" She asked in a conciliatory tone.

"She's got a broken nose, so she's not exactly happy with me right now, especially now that her dad's seen her. He's not too thrilled with me either, so it looks like we'll be on hiatus for a little while, until things calm down."

In fact, Tara had gone ballistic when the doctor confirmed that her nose had been broken and now they were on the outs, which was part of the reason why Jax had lost his mud in the Clubhouse with Jolene. She had been an easy target, which made Jax feel even shittier.

Jolene nodded solemnly at Jax's explanation, but her heart gave a little leap of joy. _Finally!_ If the end result of last night's events was that Jax split up with 'Miss Perfect and Boring,' Jolene would take her lumps and then do a happy dance all the way down Main Street.

 _Holding Jolene like this feels nice_ , Jax mused as they sat in comfortable silence watching the controlled chaos of a Saturday afternoon at the garage. _Almost too nice_.

Taking a puff from his cigarette, Jax looked at Jolene out of the corner of his eye. At thirteen, she was all long limbs with a boyish figure, but Jax could see the potential for great beauty in the delicate bone structure of her face. One day, he realized, when puberty finally decided to knock on her door and she finally grew into her beautifully wide green eyes, Jolene Morrow was gonna be a real heartbreaker. Even he had to admit that he loved her hair. Her long mane of midnight-colored curls was so thick and silky, he almost couldn't help himself from reaching out to run strands through his fingers.

Jax felt Jolene shiver slightly and, misinterpreting it as a reaction to the slight chill in the air, he pulled her in closer as he smoked his cigarette. In reality, Jax was sending shivers down her spine as he unconsciously played with one of her loose curls, gently twirling it around his index finger and rubbing it with his thumb.

With her poker face firmly in place, Jolene wondered, if by sitting this close, Jax could hear her rapidly beating heart because she couldn't hear anything but. Thinking that he must have a least a slight clue as to her feelings about him, Jolene strained her eyeballs to get a look at his face, afraid that any movement on her part would cause his arm to drop from her shoulders.

He looked deep in thought and as beautiful as ever. Jolene sighed and, in a daring move, laid her head against his shoulder. Jax half-smiled as he finished his smoke and flicked the butt halfway into the parking lot.

Jax knew exactly how she felt about him and, in spite of the age difference and their now-close relation, he didn't have the heart to discourage her. But still, maybe getting this close wasn't such a great idea. Ever since he started seeing Tara, Jolene had been all bent out of shape and even though they had been close as kids, Jolene had to understand that he was in love with Tara.

After last night, the tension between the two girls was bound to increase and that was a recipe for disaster. Living under the same roof with Jolene while still seeing Tara would not be easy going forward. That's why the sooner he was asked to prospect, the better because hopefully patching in would allow him to move into the Clubhouse so that he would have a place of his own to be with his girl.

_Maybe what happened last night was for the best after all._

Taking a break from Tara was a good thing for now, as it gave Jax the time to focus solely on the Club. Neither Gemma nor Jolene realized that, instead of tearing the couple apart, the events of last night had actually started the ball rolling in solidifying their relationship.

 _Someone's bound to get their heart broken_ , Jax contemplated, the thought that it would be his never crossing his mind.

* * *

"D, it was a thing of beauty!" Jolene leaned back in her chair. Putting her hands behind her head, Jolene sighed as she rocked her chair back and forth. "I only wish I could have seen the initial impact. I bet the blood shot out of her nose like a freaking geyser."

Sitting at the table across from her friend, Donna giggled at the word picture Jolene had painted. "God, little 'Miss Butter-Wouldn't-Melt-in-her-Mouth' must have had a fit."

"Oh, she thought about it, but Dad put her in her place real quick. Jax later told me that she really lost her shit at St. Thomas, though. As far as I'm concerned, she deserved everything she got." Jolene declared. Bending forward conspiratorially even though there was no one around to hear, Jolene whispered. "The noises she was making nearly scared the shit out of me. If what I heard were the sounds of passion, then I'm surprised a moose didn't show up after hearing it's mating call!"

"Shut up! You heard them?" Donna's eyes rolled around in her head.

"Girl, the whole neighborhood heard them." Jolene exaggerated. "It was disgusting. Come to think of it, it sounded more like the mating call of the wildebeest."

Sitting at a table in the corner of the Reference Section of Charming's Public Library, Jolene gave her BFF the 411 on the weekend's events. Donna, who had been occupied all weekend long with visiting relatives, had to wait until Monday afternoon before she could get the full scoop on her very first "ho down."

_And for some reason I'm sure it won't be Jo's last._

Jolene smiled in what, in Donna's mind, was a very sexy and knowing way for her age. "And that's not all that happened either."

"What? Tell me, what?" Donna exclaimed excitedly.

"Ssh!"

Jolene and Donna turned as Miss McGillicuddy, the elderly spinster Head Librarian, shook her head at the two noisy young girls.

"God," Jolene groused. "What is she fussing for? There's nobody in the whole damn place but you and me."

"Because she can, but forget her and get back to the good stuff." Donna ordered.

Jolene quickly remembered where she left off in their conversation. Getting butterflies in her stomach just thinking about it, she leaned over the old wooden table.

Jolene whispered. "He touched me."

"Oh, get the hell out!" Donna yelped, and then slapped her hands over her mouth.

"Twice!" Jolene let out a breathless sigh. "And then he kissed me."

"Say what?" Donna's voice squeaked.

At that point, Miss McGillicuddy realized that any hope of the two girls keeping their discussion down to a dull roar was non-existent. Throwing her hands in the air, the old librarian decided to go to the bathroom to readjust her support pantyhose.

Bubbling with excitement, Jolene quickly related her moment with Jax at the dining room table after the beat down and at the picnic table outside the Clubhouse.

 _Damn, maybe I need to get me a table._ Pushing aside her secret thoughts about a certain brownish red-headed biker, Donna listened as Jolene extolled the sexiness of one Jax Teller.

"And guess what?"

Donna sighed dramatically. "What else could have happened?"

"My Dad decided that he didn't like the thought of me being trapped in my room without being able to call for help. Soooo . . . . I'm getting my own phone in my room!" Jolene exclaimed gleefully.

"Shut up!" Donna fell back on her chair. "Okay, its official. You have arrived, girlfriend. Welcome to the world, baby girl. You are officially a teenager. You lucky bitch! I'm 15 and I can't even use the phone without permission. You're probably the only person I know who would get rewarded for beating the shit out of someone." Donna rested her hand under her chin. "Just think. If Auntie Irma and Uncle Joe hadn't shown up from Mobile, Alabama on Friday night, you would have been with me and missed out on breaking NP's nose and getting your own phone!" Donna exclaimed.

Jolene, who was leaning back on the back legs of her chair, brought the chair down with a thump. "Damn, I never even thought about that shit. Well, then thank God for thoughtless relatives who show up unannounced. Friday night was probably the best night of my life since coming to Charming." Jolene said emphatically. A sudden thought popping in her head, Jolene giggled.

"What?" Donna asked as Jolene nearly rolled around laughing.

Suddenly as sober as a preacher, Jolene lamented as she shook her head slightly. "Poor Jackson. I was the only one that got to 'bang' his heifer Friday night."

Both girls slapped their hands over their mouths, stifling their laughter as Miss McGillicuddy made her way back to her seat.

* * *

After her gab-session with Donna at the library, Jolene was in an extremely good mood as she strolled onto the T-M lot. Entering the peacefully silent Clubhouse, the smell of Bobby's famous Chili and jalapeno cornbread wafting through the Main Room nearly knocked her off her feet. Throwing her backpack onto the pool table, Jolene ran into the kitchen and spotted a large bubbling pot sitting unattended on the stove. Quickly washing her hands, Jolene found a large cereal bowl and started to dish up the spicy Chili.

"Damn, where's the cornbread?"

"Kit, the cornbread ain't ready yet."

With a yelp, Jolene whirled around to see her Uncle Elvis standing in the doorway. Making a face at him, Jolene replied, "Then this will have to do. I'm starving today."

"You're starving every day." He kidded.

Walking past her uncle, Jolene rose on her tippy toes and planted a quick kiss on his cheek before propping herself on a bar stool and diving face first into her bowl of Chili.

"So how was school?"

"It was okay." Jolene said around a mouthful. Swallowing, she continued, "I managed to finish my homework in study hall, so I'm free to work on a job today. Is Lowell around?"

"Yeah, he's rotating some tires right now." Bobby pulled away from the bar and headed towards the kitchen. "I'm going to check on the cornbread. If you slow down a minute, I'll bring you a piece to finish off your Chili."

Jolene laughed. "No need to slow down. There's plenty of Chili."

Jolene was thoroughly engrossed in the contents of her bowl. It wasn't until she felt the tiny hairs stand up on the back of her neck that she realized she wasn't alone.

"Good. I thought I might find you here."

Jolene slowly put down her spoon and swung around in her seat. Standing several feet away from her was Tara Knowles.

Jolene folded her arms across her chest and cocked her head to the side as she got a good look at her victim. But Jolene was so shocked at Tara's wardrobe choices that it took a minute before she could focus on her face.

_What the hell happened to Miss Perfect and Boring?_

The tight fire-engine-red spandex mini-skirt that Tara was wearing stopped mid-thigh and fully accented her curves. Her legs looked long and shapely in the 4-inch leopard print open-toed mules, with a matching leopard print shoulder bag. The barely one-step away from a hooker outfit was finished off with a tightly fitted black tank with a plunging neckline exposing Tara's full and creamy C-cups and a black leather jacket.

_My God, she looks like a freaking croweater! And this is what Jax thinks is old lady material?_

Finally, Jolene looked up from the plunging neckline to get a good look at the damage she had caused. Tara's nose was swollen to about twice its normal size. The small piece of white adhesive tape across its center accentuated the discoloration of her pale white skin, which had turned several shades of yellow, blue, and brown. Jolene looked in surprise at the discoloration that also reached Tara's right eye, which was also partially shut.

 _Jax forgot to mention that_ , Jolene thought gleefully.

And if the expression that shot through Tara's dark eyes like a laser beam was anything to go by, she was not at all happy.

"Well, you found me." Jolene said quietly. "What's up?"

"What's up?" Tara demanded. "I would have thought it was obvious." Pointing to her face, Tara said, "This is all your fault."

Jolene slid off of the stool and walked towards her. "Actually, I thought we all agreed that what happened wasn't anyone's fault. Besides, isn't that all water under the bridge now?"

"Not to me it isn't." Tara boldly strode up to Jolene so that she was almost in her face. "I think it's time that we came to an understanding."

Jolene felt her tongue go numb, a sure indication that she was about to lose her shit.

_God, if this heifer doesn't get out of my face, she's gonna end up with a broken arm to go with her nose._

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, Jolene replied, "And what understanding would that be?"

"That _I am_ Jax's girlfriend. _You_ are nothing but his stepsister. It must have been cute at one time, you following him around like a lovesick puppy, but it's getting really old and really sad, really fast."

"Really?" Jolene asked sarcastically, folding her arms across her chest to keep herself from grabbing onto a handful of Tara's hair, which was swept to the side and over one shoulder.

" _Really_. I've tried to be nice and civil to you, but I'm done. You are nothing but a spoiled, bitchy little brat who's used to getting her way around here, but you confuse me for someone who cares because I don't play by SAMCRO rules. I've tolerated you because everybody seems to treat you like some little grease monkey princess, but you've gotten in my way one too many times. You kept me away from Jax all summer with your stupid little games and I don't believe for one minute that you didn't have a clue as to what was going on Friday night. You're just trying to ruin what Jax and I have and your little act is transparent and pathetic and I can't believe that Jax even puts up with you. He may have to because God knows he has to toe the line if he ever wants to be a member of this godforsaken MC, but I don't. Jax is mine, so it is in your best interest to stay out of my way. Is that clear enough for you?"

Jolene looked at Tara's dark and stormy eyes. While Jolene would never admit that she took advantage of Gemma's edict to keep Jax calm and rested by keeping Tara away from him during his recovery, it royally pissed her off that NP thought she had deliberately attacked the couple out of malice. Jolene was a hair-trigger away from going ape-shit, but during Tara's little tirade, Jolene had an epiphany.

_I know it's my destiny to be with Jackson Teller, but destiny doesn't need my help. Every time I try to make it happen in my own timeframe, shit happens. The best thing I can do is to let this shit between Jax and Tara run its course to its bitter and ugly end. I'll have to suffer through it and, in the end, so will Jax, but eventually, I know he will be mine._

Jolene looked at Tara with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Oh, it's clear, alright. Absolutely crystal. Are we done?" Without waiting for an answer, Jolene walked back to her Chili and paid no attention as Tara sashayed out of the Clubhouse, while her Uncle Elvis watched from the kitchen.

* * *

Thanking Lowell for dropping her off in the tow truck, Jolene sauntered into the Teller-Morrow house. Slinging her backpack on the dining room table, she headed to the fridge. Pulling the door open and perusing the contents, Jolene settled on a can of soda.

Slamming the door shut, Jolene let out a screech as Gemma, who was standing hidden behind the door of the refrigerator, smiled. "Damn it, Gemma, what are you doing? Testing me to see if potty training took?"

"Sorry, Jolene. I thought you heard me come in." Gemma lied. Sitting down at her usual spot at the dining room table, Gemma crossed her long legs. "And how was school today?"

Jolene nearly rolled her eyes at the beautiful woman. She was still not used to the idea of having a stepmother. While she wouldn't compare Gemma to the wicked step-bitches from the fairy tales, the jury was still out on their new relationship. The fact remained that Jolene had been a daddy's girl from the moment she set foot in Charming and while she was mature in some ways, she was still a teenager and still found it difficult sharing her father with the new woman in his life.

Imitating her stepmother, Jolene sat down at the table across from Gemma and crossed her legs. Popping the top on the soda, Jolene took a deep long pull. Letting out an indelicate burp, she placed the can on the table. "It was okay."

"Well, I bet you and your BFF had a lot to talk about." Jolene raised her eyebrows as Gemma continued. "The Friday night smack down."

"Oh, that." Jolene replied languidly. "I'm not really sure. We talk about so many things, you know."

"Tell me, what do you think of her?"

"Of who?" Jolene decided to play dumb.

"Who do you think? Cindy Crawford?"

Jolene tried but couldn't stop the snort from exiting her nose. "Oh, you mean NP."

"NP?" Gemma asked quizzically.

Jolene considered not explaining the reference. After all, some adults tend to wig out when their teenage children used profanity, but Jolene figured that it was better to be real with Gemma than not.

"New Pussy. I try not to learn the names of Jax's new whores. He changes them so often, it would be a complete waste of my time and energy."

It took all Gemma had not to let out a snort herself.

_This one sure has a set._

"That certainly is true, but this one's been around for a while now. Besides, I think it would be kind of hard to forget her. After all, you did break her damn nose."

"Oh yeah. I almost forgot about that." Jolene said nonchalantly. Thinking about her earlier run-in with Tara at the Clubhouse, Jolene almost chuckled. "One thing's for sure, though. She'll never forget _my_ name."

"You don't think much of her, do you?"

"No, not really."

"Any particular reason?"

"I could probably come up with a few dozen reasons, all personal, but it all boils down to one reason that Jax doesn't see." Jolene looked her stepmother in the eye. "Tara Knowles is simply not cut out for the Life. The Life will eat her alive."

Gemma took a good long look at Jolene. Seeing the serious and determined expression on her young face, gave Gemma pause. The fact was, Gemma felt exactly the same way about Tara.

"Go on," Gemma prodded.

Realizing that Gemma was actually interested in her input, Jolene straightened up in her chair and folded her hands on the table.

"I don't think she's a bad person. Hell, considering some of the other ho-bags Jax has banged in the past, she's somewhat normal. But, she's just too damn needy, always in need of rescuing. How many times has Jax run out of here in the middle of the night because her father came home drunk and made her cry? Jesus, if only I had a dollar for each time! And she wants out of Charming. She's buying a one-way ticket out of here as soon as she can, I can tell by just looking at her. She thinks she's too good for this town, for its people, maybe even too good for Jax. She hates the MC. She's gonna try to change him and I can see her trying to pull Jax away."

"That'll never happen." Gemma replied determinedly.

Jolene quirked an eyebrow at Gemma. "You absolutely sure about that? He's been with her longer than anyone, _ever_. He's more connected to her than anybody I've seen him with before and she is different, I'll give her that much."

Knowing how close Jax and Jolene have been through the years, Gemma contemplated what Jolene was saying. "You think Jax sees her as old lady material?"

"Old lady material? No." _He_ _can't because he belongs to me. He just doesn't know it yet._ "And if he does, he's in for a rude awakening. Once he gets patched, NP will be nothing more than a bad memory."

"You think so?" Gemma smiled.

"I know so."

"You may have a point," Gemma said, humoring her. "But you do realize that there's no guarantee that Jax will be asked to prospect."

"Oh, but he will be. He has to. Jax is SAMCRO. He's destined to do great things for the Club, but only with the right old lady by his side supporting him. You'll see, one of these days, Jax is gonna have a choice to make, and I know it will be the right one."

As Jolene got up to go to her room, Gemma reached for her cell phone. Gemma started dialing her husband's pre-pay, but stopped and reconsidered. Her relationship with Clay was still in the honeymoon stage.

_No need to rock that boat just yet._

Jolene was definitely on the right track. Gemma decided to give Bobby a call instead to see where his head was at. If Jax's destiny was indeed SAMCRO, and she believed it was as much as, if not more than, Jolene did, then it was time to get the ball rolling.

* * *

Jax was leaning against the entrance of the greenhouse door, watching his mother, who was in the midst of repotting one of her favorite plants, an African Violet. The young man had always known that his mother was a beautiful woman, but it seemed like she became even more so as she got older and more comfortable in her own skin.

At 37, Gemma was vibrant, sexy, and sparkled with life. It had been a hard bone to swallow when she decided to remarry. Jax had barely turned sixteen and was still trying to adjust to life without one of his parents and had grown quite possessive of his mother. Knowing how much his parents had loved each other, Jax had thought it unlikely that Gemma would ever want to marry again.

Still mourning the death of her youngest son only three years before, the weight of the grief over losing her husband so soon was threatening to crush the otherwise strong-willed and determined woman. So when Clay Morrow had entered the picture six months after his father had died, Jax was stunned that Gemma had accepted his advances. The man who had replaced his father at the head of the Redwood table was looking to replace him in the heart of his widow as well.

It was almost too much for Jax to take in all at once. He was still grieving for his brother and father and couldn't help but resent the blossoming relationship between his mother and the new SAMCRO President. Had it not been for Bobby, Jax would have gone off the deep end. Knowing how his mother felt about him, Jax had been willing to manipulate her in order to get her away from Clay. It had taken a long talk with Bobby over a shared joint to open Jax's eyes. Despite his feelings of angst concerning the new man in her life, Jax could see that, for the first time in a long time, his mother was really happy. It was obvious that Gemma had a better handle on her own love life than he had on his.

"So, are you going to keep holding up the doorframe or are you going to come in and talk to me?" Gemma called out without turning her back.

Jax smiled as he swaggered into the greenhouse. The fact that Clay had it built from the ground up on the acreage of their new home just because Gemma had asked him to proved to Jax how totally enamored Clay was of his mother.

Wrapping his arms around her from behind, Jax gave his mother a little squeeze and then leaned against the table to watch her work.

"You got eyes on the back of your head?" Jax asked her, not for the first time in his life.

"They sprouted the day you were born, shithead." Gemma shot back with her standard reply. Gently pressing the last bit of dirt around the newly repotted plant, she took off her dirt covered work gloves and set them on the table. Reaching out, she tucked a stray hair behind his ear.

 _God, he looks so much like John_ , she thought tenderly.

"So what's today's life-threatening dilemma in your teenage universe?" She asked snarkily.

"Why do you always assume that I'm in the shit?" Jax retorted.

"Because I know my son, and I know that look on your face in particular. That's the young angry man look most teenage boys get when their pussy starts acting up on them, so just go ahead and spill it."

_What the hell? Did she call the Psychic Hot Line?_

Jax rubbed his face with both hands and sighed, deciding to give into his mother's bullying tactics. "It's Tara."

"Well, no shit, Sherlock. I gathered that much. What is it specifically?"

"After what happened last weekend, we decided to cool it down a little. Tara's dad wasn't happy about what happened." He didn't tell Gemma that Tara had told her father a modified version of events regarding where and what she was doing at the time of the incident, but Jax had a feeling that he saw through the deception, and that he really didn't give a shit anyway.

Michael Knowles was a functioning alcoholic and when he wasn't working, he spent most of his time down at the Hairy Dog drinking away his paycheck, instead of seeing to the needs of his only daughter.

"Yeah, I thought I hadn't seen her around the Clubhouse lately." Gemma commented.

 _Apparently, the beat down had more than just a few silver linings_ , Gemma smirked to herself.

"Well, actually she did come down on Monday afternoon to see Jolene." Jax said grimly. "She wanted to lay down the law after what happened."

Gemma rolled her eyes as she crossed her arms underneath her impressive rack. "And Tara is still alive?"

_I can't believe the little heifer didn't tell me about this when we talked._

Jax grinned a little. "Actually, I'm surprised about that myself. Jolene's not really known for containing her mud."

"So how did you find out?"

"Bobby. He was in the kitchen and heard the whole thing. He was more than a little pissed and after what he told me, so was I. Jolene may be busting her chops a little, but that was no excuse to go off on her like that. Tara's older and smart. She should have handled the situation better. Jolene's family and only family has the right to put a foot up your ass when needed."

After being pulled aside by Bobby, Jax roared off the lot peeling tires to get to Tara's house. He didn't know or really understand where this anger had come from, but he was pissed. He was determined to make it clear that, even though she was his girl, Tara was still an outsider. She did not have the right to dictate what went on whether in or out of the Clubhouse or to take it upon herself to chastise his family. He was so intent on planning on what to say, he was literally speechless when Tara opened the door.

Seeing her in what was definitely a wardrobe don't, Jax had quickly pushed her inside before anybody could see the hooker standing on her doorstep. In no uncertain terms, Jax made it clear that he wasn't happy at all, not just with her attack on his stepsister, but with her current croweater get up.

Although Tara was shocked at how angry, abrasive, and unkind Jax was with his hot angry glare and flared nostrils, she came to a stunning conclusion.

_An angry Jax is a hot Jax._

Thinking that she could talk him off the ledge, Tara quickly jumped him. It had taken her a few minutes to get him to join the party, but once he did, and they headed to her room, she was sure that she had things back in hand.

Jax on the other hand, was not feeling at all good about the situation. He had allowed his penis to call the shots. Again. He shared the entire episode with his mother, with the exception of their marathon make-up session.

It didn't matter as Gemma could read what happened right on his face. The hickies that were poorly hidden by the collar of his jacket were a dead giveaway too.

_Poor baby. Two steps forward, one step back. When is he going to get a clue that this girl is just not for him?_

Therefore, Gemma was surprised when Jax confessed that he was thinking along the same lines. "Mom, I really care about her, but sometimes I wonder if me and Tara are a good thing."

_Tell me something I don't know._

Gemma decided to try a little reverse psychology. "Baby, I would be the last person to try and tell you what to do," She started and the fact that she managed to say it with a straight face caused Jax to snort out loud. "The girl has a lot going for her. She's pretty and has a nice figure. But just remember one thing, baby." Gemma wrapped her arm around her son as she led him out of the greenhouse. "Not everything that glitters is gold."


	3. First Students

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sons of Anarchy.**

* * *

"Move ya lazy arses!" Chibs yelled as the two Prospects worked doggedly in the Clubhouse. The after-Church party had been particularly wild and the Main Room was a mess. There were still several drunken Club members and scantily clad croweaters scattered around the room, which was also littered with empty liquor bottles, containers of food, and clothes strewn over the floors and furniture. "And I want the floor to shine like a mirror, or I'll know the reason why."

Chibs was sitting on top of the bar, with a bottle of Jameson in his hand as he oversaw the clean up detail. He looked up as Big Otto Delaney strolled out of the Chapel with their President.

Looking over the mess, Otto said to Clay, "It seems like someone forgot to clean up in here."

"Well, it better be clean by 3:00, or I'll have me a couple of new hides to put on the wall." Clay sneered.

"What the hell is this?" Big Otto barked as he pointed to a bucket of dirty water that was sitting in the middle of the room. "Yo, shithead!" Indicating the nearest Prospect, Otto called menacingly, "Don't you know anybody could slip and break their neck on this wet floor?"

The Prospect looked down at the floor. "What wet floor?"

The bucket suddenly tipped over and created a river in the Main Room. "That wet floor, idiot." Otto smiled brightly. "Clean it up. And before three, remember?"

As they walked out of the Clubhouse, Clay clapped his hand on brother's back. "You are one twisted son of a bitch, you know that?"

"Hell yeah!" Otto replied, laughing.

Opie glared at Jax. "What wet floor? Really?" He snarked. Nodding at the mess, Opie said to his best friend, "You're on your own, bro."

Jax sighed. _Fuck!_

* * *

Leaning against the car while Big Otto demonstrated how to change a timing belt on a BMW **,** Jolene looked up when she heard a familiar bike pull into the lot.

Jax parked in his designated spot and cut the engine on his Dyna-Glide. As he swung his leg over the bike and yanked off his helmet, shoving it onto the handlebars of his ride, Jolene could tell that Jax was pissed off to the extreme. Jolene was so engrossed in watching him that she didn't hear Otto ask for the torque wrench.

When he didn't get a response to his request, Big Otto pulled his head out from under the hood. Chuckling to himself, he saw that Jolene's attention had been redirected towards a certain young blond biker, who was currently making himself at home on top of the picnic table.

"Am I boring you?"

Jolene's head jerked as she heard Big Otto's quiet voice. "No, of course not, Big O." But Jolene's eyes betrayed her as they darted back to Jax, who was now smoking a cigarette.

Otto smiled to himself. Growing up on the T-M lot, many would argue, including her father, that Jolene's first love was cars. Otto knew that Clay was probably deluding himself into thinking his little grease monkey would never grow up because anyone with eyes could see that her first and only love was Jackson Teller.

"Oh, go on." As Jolene looked at Otto with a light in her green eyes, he nodded. "I think I can handle this on my own. Go take a break."

Wiping her oil-stained hands on a dirty rag hanging from her pocket, Jolene sauntered over to the picnic table and plopped herself down next to Jax. "Hey," She said breathlessly as if she had run a mile across the lot.

"Hey, little darlin'." Jax replied taking a deep drag on his cigarette.

Jolene took a minute to catch her breath. "Are you okay?" At Jax's look, she replied, "It's just that you look a little pissed. Is there anything I can do to help?"

Jax blew a long cloud of smoke towards the sky. Feeling like a royal asshole for even wanting to spill his guts, Jax decided to come clean to the one person, other than Opie, that he felt he could confide in.

"It's Tara. She's still bitching about me quitting school. Things got a little heated, that's all."

Both Jax and Opie had recently been asked to prospect by the Club, Bobby Elvis being their sponsor. The standard time before a Prospect could be invited to patch in was a minimum of a year. Only two months into their Prospect period, both Opie and Jax had decided to drop out of high school, to Tara's shock and amazement.

While Jolene was happy that Jax and Tara's relationship seemed to be finally heading towards skid row, she was glad that Tara's complaining had finally given her the opening she needed to tackle Jax on the subject.

Looking at the man who she wished didn't see her as just his little stepsister, Jolene replied, "I can't lie to you, Jax. I'm a little disappointed in you, too."

Jolene wished that she had a camera to capture the priceless expression on Jax's face.

_Uh, huh. Didn't see that comin', did ya?_

Of all of the people he expected support from as he prospected, Jax would have pegged Jolene as number one in his corner.

Jax finally regained his power of speech. "Disappointed? Why, because I want to patch into SAMCRO?" He asked incredulously. "I expect this shit from Tara, not you, Jo. I know I've told you before. All I've ever wanted from the time I was five was—"

"A Harley and a cut." Jolene finished for him. "I know, Jax, but that's not what I'm talking about. I know how much the patch means to you, and to Ope." _Unlike your girlfriend, who doesn't have nor want a clue_. "I'm talking about you quitting high school. A year is a year. Your probationary period's not gonna go any faster 'cause you quit school." Jolene wrinkled her nose. "I am so not a fan of your girlfriend, but I think she's right."

Jax scoffed at his stepsister. "What the hell do I need a diploma for? Am I going to hang it on the wall next to my mug shot?"

Jolene threw up her hands. "Okay, so a high school diploma isn't exactly a requirement to patch into SAMCRO. I just never took you for a quitter, to want the easy way out just to move along to the next step."

"Prospecting is not easy, Jo. Not by a long shot." Jax retorted.

"I'm not saying it is, but let me ask you, what would your father think about you dropping out?" Jolene inquired, looking at her fingernails as if Jax's answer was of no real consequence.

Throwing his cigarette on the ground, Jax gave Jolene a hard look. "That's a low blow, little darlin'."

"It wasn't meant as one, but whatever gets you thinking is fair game." Jolene retorted.

"My father was a smart man and he didn't need a college education to be the man he was."

"I agree, and unlike your girl, _I'm_ not the one harping on you to go to college." Jolene replied.

Jax rubbed his face with both hands. "Then why are you harping on me?"

"Jax, you know I love SAMCRO, but most of the patches I've met don't have a tenth of the brain power JT did. Education is not high on their list of top priorities, so it's not all about just getting an education. To a lot of these men, actions speak louder than words. What kind of message do you think you and Ope are sending by quitting? Not finishing what you start? How much faith can they have in a Prospect that can't handle two difficult tasks at once?"

Jax opened his mouth to answer her, but decided to take a moment to really think about what she had said. A stray comment made by Kyle Hobart had made its way back to Jax. While Jax knew that Bobby wouldn't sponsor anyone he didn't believe was worthy of patching in, Kyle seemed to think that Jax didn't deserve the opportunity to prospect and wasted no time in letting his brothers know. Even Jax could tell that Kyle held little sway over those that sat at the table, but he continued dropping little seeds of doubt amongst the croweaters, who brought it back to the patches. Now Jolene had him wondering just how the Club viewed him dropping out and how it could affect his chances of patching in.

Realizing that what Jolene had to say made some sense, Jax sighed. "Maybe you have a point," He said as Jolene started to smile. "But Jo, the idea of going back to high school now—I just can't see it happening."

Jolene put a hand on his strong and well-muscled shoulder and it took everything within her not to blush. "Look, going back now would probably suck ass, so you don't have to."

Jax raised his eyebrow. "Jo, don't go acting like a woman on me now. I get enough of that shit from Tara." As Jolene's eyes narrowed, Jax continued. "You're confusing me, which is it—go back to school or don't go back?"

Jolene put a hand on her hip. "Smartass!" Clipping him on his shoulder with a small, but powerful fist, Jax grunted. "You can go for your G.E.D. At least you'll get to finish what you started. It may not seem like it's important now, but one day you may have a family and knowing you, you'll want your kids to look up to you. I've never known you to be a hypocrite, Jax. You wouldn't preach what you yourself haven't practiced, would ya?"

Looking at Jolene, Jax couldn't help but smile. She obviously thought more of him than he did of himself.

"Besides, it's not like you have to do it alone. I can help, drill you in stuff, whatever you need." Jolene offered. Realizing that she had given Jax enough to chew on for now, Jolene got up and headed back over to Big Otto. Tossing her hair over her shoulder, she looked back at Jax. "Just think about it."

* * *

" _Uh, hello."_ The voice on the other end of the line cracked nervously. _"May I please speak to Jolene?"_

Jax gripped the cordless phone with a look of astonishment on his face. It was not his habit to pick up the phone in the Teller-Morrow household, but Jolene asked him to grab it while she ran upstairs to collect the G.E.D. review materials for the prep session she had planned for him and Opie.

Finally managing to convince Jax and Opie to get their high school diploma, Jolene remained true to her word and was volunteering her time to help them study and prepare for the G.E.D. classes, twice, sometimes three times a week.

Not realizing that his best friend was behind him, leaning against the hallway entrance into the living room, Jax replied, "Who the hell is this?"

Opie raised an eyebrow, Jax's heated and nasty tone directed at the person on the other end of the line taking him by surprise.

_Somehow, I don't think that call is for Gemma._

" _Uh, my name is Denny Williams. I go to school with Jolene."_

 _WTF?_ Jax looked at the phone incredulously. _This little piece of shit can't possibly be calling for my little darlin'!_

Jax was of two minds about this turn of events. While he was very well aware of Jolene's infatuation with him, in the end, he knew that she would eventually grow out of it and would get involved with boys of her own age. But the fact that it would happen gave him an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. Despite the age difference between them, Jax had very special feelings for his stepsister. The idea that she could turn to one of her schoolmates after she finally realized that things were never going to happen between the two of them gave Jax pause. He would hate for her to make a rash decision, especially if her heart was vulnerable, and end up being a victim of any number of the perpetually horny teenage boys in her circle of friends.

Obviously, it was in Jolene's best interest that he get rid of this little turd and quick.

Turning back to the phone, Jax growled into the handset. "Do you have any idea who the fuck I am?"

The boy on the other line practically swallowed his tongue after hearing the terse reply coming from the angry young biker. _"Uh, no sir."_

"I'm Jolene's big brother and if you know what's good for you, you won't call here again. As a matter of fact, if you're smart, you'll spread the word among your little friends that Jolene is off-limits." Jax replied menacingly. "That is, unless you like the idea of me chaining you to the back of my Harley and taking you for a ride. We clear?"

A gulp came across the line. " _Crystal_." The next thing Jax heard was the sound of the line being disconnected.

Jax replaced the handset on its cradle and looked up as Jolene jogged down the stairs loaded with books in her arms. She had pencils and pens stuck haphazardly in her hair which she had pulled up into a top knot at the crown of her head. With tendrils of her hair falling down and framing her face, Jax realized to his utter amazement that his little stepsister was growing up.

"Who was that on the phone?" Jolene asked as she finally made it to the base of the steps.

Jax smiled crookedly as he reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "Uh, nobody. Wrong number."

Jolene headed towards the dining room. "Well, come on you two. We've got a shitload to cover today."

* * *

"That was certainly interesting."

Jax, sitting in his designated parking spot on the T-M lot, cut the motor on his bike and pulled off his helmet. "Yeah, I have to say, I think someday Jo's gonna make a really great teacher."

"Nah, that's not it." Opie hung his helmet off of one of the handlebars on his ride. "I mean your little conversation on the phone before our session with Jolene. Whose ass were you chewing on back there, brother?"

Jax pulled out a cigarette and lit it. "Just some little twerp calling for Jo. No big deal."

"I don't know, Jax. It sure sounded like a big deal to me." Opie folded his arms as he leaned against his bike.

Jax blew out a trail of smoke. "Look, Ope. I'm just watching out for her, that's all. You know what people think about MCs in general, especially the women associated with them. I just don't want any of these little dicks thinking that they can push up on her. I would've thought that you wouldn't want anybody trying shit with her either."

"Hey, of course I wouldn't. I'm just saying that Jo's a pretty tough chick. She knows how to handle her shit. I just don't want my best friend getting a new asshole ripped into him by little sis if she should find out that you're scaring off potential love interests." Deciding to yank on Jax's chain by playing Devil's Advocate, Opie called out over his shoulder as he headed to the Clubhouse, "After all, Jo's growing up. She won't be crushing on you forever."

* * *

It was a late Friday evening when Jolene decided to make herself at home in her father's man cave. With everyone at the Clubhouse enjoying Friday night festivities, the coast was clear for Jolene to sneak downstairs to enjoy her father's new big screen TV. The man cave was a hodgepodge of ultra man-sized furniture in a variety of colors, sizes and materials and it was probably Jolene's most favorite room in the house.

Clay had declared his den "a home-decorating free zone" the moment they had moved in a couple of years ago, refusing to let Gemma put her design skills to use, which irked her to no end.

"You can trick out the rest of house any which way you want," Clay had declared, "But this space is MINE!"

The room definitely reeked of testosterone. With dark paneling on the walls covered with old photographs from Clay's days in Vietnam and the early days of SAMCRO and the dark brown wood blinds on the small windows, the room had a cave-like feel to it. The room was big enough for several sofas, some leather, some upholstered in a dark patchwork design, a large mahogany coffee table and a couple of mismatched end tables and lamps. A large desk was situated in the corner of the room and was surrounded by several built-in bookcases filled with books, including Sun Tzu's Art of War and Machiavelli's The Prince. The room just screamed "No Girls Allowed" and that was exactly how Clay liked it.

Jolene had always loved her father's den and had spent many hours in it with him just hanging out while Gemma was out and about with Luann or doing retail therapy with the rest of the old ladies in San Leandro. However, with the brand new boxy-looking 50-inch projection television, the room now had an even more special appeal to Jolene.

Jolene was practically lost in the deep cushiony oversized patchwork sofa. She was wearing a big and fluffy white robe and her favorite barber pole striped wooly socks, a gift from Jax from his first official run to Eureka. With her warm and toasty feet propped up on the coffee table and a large bowl of homemade hot and spicy buttered popcorn in her lap, Jolene sighed contentedly as she watched Richard Gere and Julia Roberts flirt as they sat in a piano bar of an exclusive hotel.

"What are you doing in here?"

Jolene gave a little squeal and nearly upended the bowl of popcorn in her lap. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Jax standing in the doorway. The blond biker was leaning casually against the door frame. Wearing a long-sleeved white shirt, baggy jeans, sneakers, and, of course, his prospect cut, Jax was looking particularly fine that evening.

Jolene tried not to swallow her tongue. "What are you trying to do, kill me so you won't have to buy me a birthday present this year?" Jolene did her best to sound pissed instead of love struck.

"I won't have to kill ya 'cause you're as good as dead if you mess up Clay's new TV." Strolling into the room, Jax leaned down over Jolene, stretched out a hand, and grabbed a handful of popcorn. "Damn, Jo, you like a little popcorn with your butter?"

"Oh, please, you know that's how you like it, too." Jolene barely managed to snark. "Anyway, what are you doing here?" She looked at her watch. "It's only 11:00. The after-Church party has barely had a chance to heat up."

"And what would you know about that?" Jax said as he reached for another handful of popcorn.

_Damn, Jo does make a mean bowl of popcorn._

"Maybe you've forgotten, but I've been around a while now. And you still haven't answered my question."

To be honest, Jax wasn't exactly sure.

Jolene was right, the party had most definitely been jumping. In fact, he had been having a great time. That is, until Tara lost her mud.

One of the older sweetbutts, a red-headed woman named Gigi had been steadily making advances towards Jax all night and right in front of Tara, no less. Jax had ignored her for the most part, but when Tara was confronted by Gigi, who was quick to tell her that her services were no longer required, Tara lost her grip. It took several brothers to break up the cat fight and after cleaning his girlfriend up, Jax took Tara home. While part of him felt an obligation to stay with her, especially as her father was working nights again, Jax didn't feel like dealing with the drama of the situation. But, strangely enough, he didn't feel like going back to the Clubhouse either. Instead, he found himself heading home, curious to see what Jolene was up to on a Friday night.

Deciding not to re-hash the night's events, Jax shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I had the same idea as you. Thought it would be nice to chill out and watch a little boob tube. I didn't expect to find you in here watching chick flicks, though."

Not believing her good fortune of having an evening all to herself with Jax, Jolene smiled roguishly. "Well, if you want to hang with me, I'm afraid watching chick flicks is the price of admission." She said smartly. "So, are you in or are you chicken?" She challenged.

Jax quickly rounded the sofa and, before Jolene realized what he was doing, sat down on the sofa next to her, grabbed the bowl of popcorn and placed it in his lap. Stretching out on the full length of the sofa, Jax placed his head in her lap and sighed contentedly as he quickly started eating more of the buttery, spicy popcorn.

_Oh. My. GOD!_

Jolene was almost frozen in her shock as she peeked down at the pretty blond biker whose head was currently resting comfortably in her lap.

As a young child, while still living with her mother, Jolene had suffered nerve damage as a result of nearly being frost-bitten due to exposure. Because of that, Jolene was always cold and could never seem to get warm enough. With Jax's body heat slowly seeping into her, Jolene nearly moaned at the sheer pleasure of it.

_D is not going to BELIEVE THIS!_

"Hey, if I have to watch this chick flick, why don't you at least turn up the volume?" Jax ordered.

First shaking, then nodding her head, Jolene's hand trembled as she reached for the remote. Turning up the sound, which Jolene desperately hoped muffled the sound of her rapidly beating heart, she spent the rest of the night making popcorn and watching movies with the love of her life's head in her lap.

* * *

"I'm telling you, D. He's coming around." Jolene crowed.

The two girls were sitting together in a quiet corner of Charming Public Library. Jolene had put in a full Saturday morning working at the garage before she was able to escape Gemma's eagle eyes so that she could go "study" at the library. It was the first time that Jolene had an opportunity to fill in her best friend on the details of her first Friday night "date" with Jackson Teller.

With several opened, but unstudied books on the table in front of them, Jolene, in a hushed whisper, gave Donna a blow-by-blow of last night's events.

Donna was suitably impressed with the retelling as Jolene rhapsodized over the intimate time she had spent with her "old man".

After finishing _Pretty Woman_ , Jolene had made another batch of fresh popcorn while they stayed up and, at Jax's coaxing, switched to watching slasher movies.

"Thank God it was all stuff I had already seen because I have absolutely no idea what was playing."

"God, Jo. What time did you finish up?"

"Not until about 4:00 in the morning." Jolene sighed dramatically. "The best part, aside from his head in my lap, had to be watching the slasher flicks. I'd pretend to be all scared and shit and I jumped him a few times before he put his arm around me!"

Donna's eyes rounded to the size of dinner plates. "Shut up!"

"Let me tell you, his chest is as hard as a rock." Jolene sighed dreamily. "And D, we just didn't watch movies. We talked and talked, oh, about everything."

"What I wanna know is why wasn't he hanging out at the Clubhouse? Didn't you tell me there's a big party going on every Friday night?"

"Apparently the party was a bust. I got the lowdown from Lowell this morning, who heard what went down from Tig. NP got into a fight with one of the croweaters and Jax took her home. I guess he's getting tired of the drama because he seemed to be exactly where he wanted to be last night. _With me!_ I'm telling you, NP is on her way out the door!" Jolene crossed her arms under her A-cup bosom and winced slightly.

As happy as Donna was for her best friend after what surely had been a special night for her with the love of her life, Donna still wasn't sold on the idea that things were turning around for the better. Still, she decided that at least for now she would continue to be supportive of her friend's feelings. From experience, first crushes usually come to disappointing ends all on their own.

Realizing that she just saw her BFF wincing in what seemed like pain, Donna nodded sympathetically towards Jolene's growing rack. "A little painful, huh?"

"Uh, ya think?" Jolene tried to discreetly adjust her bra. "You couldn't clue a sister in to the fact that the girls coming in wouldn't be a pain-free process?"

"What did you expect?" Donna shot back. "It's kind of like teething. Same principle."

"Like I remember teething, bitch. Between this and the PMS'ing, I'm about to flip the fuck out."

"You don't say?" Donna replied in mock shock. "You'll live. It's all a part of growing up. It's painful now, but once you're done, hopefully your body will catch up with your attitude and give you all the ammunition you need to snag Jax." Donna giggled softly. "Until that happens, what's the plan going forward?"

"Keep hope alive." Jolene snarked as she wriggled her eyebrows.

Donna opened her mouth to respond when she spotted two teenage boys bee-lining it to their table. Donna's eyes widened when she recognized one of them. "Don't look now, but I think Denny's coming over here."

Jolene rolled her eyes. "Oh, God. Not today." She moaned.

It was Donna's turn to roll her eyes at her best friend. At 16, Denny Williams was the most popular boy in their school. Denny was 6'1, good-looking, and well-built with wavy dark hair and hazel eyes. He almost looked out of place in high school. The sophomore was Captain of Excelsior Prep's basketball team and President of the Math Club, making him popular with the jocks and the geeks, as well as teachers. Rumor had it that he had recently broken up with his girlfriend, Captain of the Pep Squad and a cute little blonde name Charlotte. From what Donna had been able to gather, Denny was in the market for a new girlfriend. It was apparent to anyone that kept up with idle gossip, namely Donna, that he was singling out freshman Jolene Morrow for the privilege.

Unfortunately, Jolene couldn't be bothered to give him the time of day.

"Hey. Hi, Jolene." Denny stood in front of the two girls, with his sidekick and teammate Pete Tarnowski standing beside him.

"Oh, hey Denny." Jolene said with a lackluster tone in her voice, his intense scrutiny making her a little self-conscious. Did budding breasts send out a signal that would immediately have the boys circling like sharks?

"So I guess you heard that the Panthers made it to the quarterfinals. We're playing the Warriors next week." Denny said, referring to the team for Modesto High School and Excelsior's arch rivals. "Will I see you at the game?" He flashed her with a bright smile.

Jolene felt kind of bad about Denny. He was a really nice guy, smart, too, but she wasn't into him like that. She had to nip this in the bud because she didn't want to lead him to believe otherwise.

"No, I can't make it, but I wish you and the team all the best. I know the Panthers will represent Excelsior Prep well." Jolene stood up and packed up her messenger bag and Donna quickly followed suit. "We have to go. Donna's mom is picking us up out front."

Donna headed towards the back of the library. "I have to make a pit stop. I'll meet you outside, Jo."

* * *

As Donna exited the Women's bathroom and headed towards the exit, she noticed Denny and his friend standing off to the side so deep in conversation that they didn't even notice her. As she passed them down the aisle, something Pete said caught her attention. Ducking behind a bookshelf where she would remain hidden as she eavesdropped, Donna strained her ears to listen.

"She most certainly did blow you off, man." Pete was saying as Denny flipped through a book, not really paying attention to the contents.

"No, she didn't. She's probably shy, that's all." Denny replied a little annoyed.

"Jolene Morrow? Shy?" Pete laughed. "Nah, man. Those two realities do not go together."

"Well, if she did blow me off, maybe her brother's pressuring her to."

"Yeah, well, if that's the case, she may be hot, but it's not worth it." Pete opined, causing Denny to glare at his friend. "Hey, all I'm saying is her brother has a bit of a reputation for being a hothead and he's a biker, too. Don't they travel in packs?"

"What? You think I'm afraid of her brother?" Denny snapped the book shut. He was always up for a challenge. Denny had only backed down on the telephone because the biker had caught him off guard.

"You should be. He said he was gonna chain you to his bike and take you for a ride. Sounds like he put a lot of thought into it, man. If I was you, I'd leave her alone."

Donna was struck dumb and immobilized as Denny threw his book back onto the shelf and walked away from Pete, more than a little pissed with his friend and Jolene's brother.

"Holy shit!" Donna squealed to herself as she turned tail and headed outside.

* * *

Jax was determined not to think about Tara Knowles on what was probably the best night of his life.

After going through the living hell of being a SAMCRO Prospect, Jax leaned back in his chair and reverently ran his hand over the cut that now sported his top rocker. He had finally earned the privilege of wearing the Reaper on his back and he was determined to enjoy the fuck out of this moment.

His probationary year had not been an easy one, but Jax had put his full effort and time into the Club, surviving the hazing, the insults, and the grunt work. Now, recalling the words spoken by his President during the patch ceremony, came the truly hard work of proving himself worthy of his patch everyday.

Being a fully patched member meant his brothers trusted him blindly and in the coming weeks they would prove just how much. This evening, along with their patches, Jax and Opie had received their first real assignment for the Club, a run to the Canadian border with two Tacoma brothers, Happy and Kozik. As First 9 progeny, Clay felt that both young brothers had been exposed to enough of the Life within the Clubhouse walls to know exactly how the MC earned. In the days to come, they were going to learn first hand the business of gun-running, a partnership created by JT himself between the Sons and the True IRA.

As proud as Jax was of his cut, the Reaper hadn't been his only achievement in recent months.

After being nagged mercilessly by Jolene for weeks, Jax and Opie had earned their high school equivalency diploma. At times, Jax felt that Jolene had rode them harder than any patch in the Clubhouse ever had. At least twice a week, Jolene would transform from his favorite little grease monkey into a strict and unyielding schoolmarm.

 _She's tough_ , Jax smiled to himself, _but smart as hell_.

After all the work and effort Jolene had put into getting them ready, come test time, Jax was more worried about letting her down than he was about failing. As it turned out, there had been no reason to sweat as both Jax and Opie passed on their first try and with pretty impressive scores.

Not surprisingly, Jolene had been right all along. After learning from Jolene that Jax and Opie had passed, Big Otto had pulled Jax aside and congratulated him for finishing what he started. In Otto's mind, it was a big accomplishment and showed stones that they chose to finish their education.

Grinning, Jax watched as Ope, who had been enjoying the company of two sweetbutts, one sitting on each leg, got up and headed towards to his new dorm to celebrate. Sitting at the table, with a red-head perched on his lap, Jax was having a great time. The patch party was rocking, with the jukebox blasting Metallica and chaos in the Main Room so amped up that he could barely hear himself think.

Suddenly, a shot glass was slammed down on the table in front of Jax. Smiling, Bobby Elvis sat across the table and toasted the newest Son. "Your dad would be really proud of you, Jax."

Jax felt a momentary fleeting sense of sadness. How he would have loved to have had his father and brother there to witness him joining the brotherhood that his father had co-founded with his best friend Piney Winston, the father of his own best friend.

Jax cleared his throat. "Yeah, I know."

"We're expecting a lot of good things from you." Bobby said on a slightly serious note. "I know you are going to be an asset to the Club." Giving him a wink, Bobby stood up. "And I know a lot of good things are going to happen for you."

Jax knew that Bobby was right. He had been preparing for this his whole life and Jax was prepared to dedicate his life to the brotherhood. The one thing he had not been prepared for, however, were things not turning out as planned with Tara.

Jax had hoped that the woman he had hope to make his old lady would have a change of heart and at least make an appearance tonight, but it was going on 1:00 in the morning and there had been no sign of her.

Although Tara had been mollified when he told her about getting his G.E.D., she quickly jumped on the college bandwagon. When Jax refused to discuss a path that did not include SAMCRO, Tara finally came clean about her real feelings regarding the Club.

Jax had been lying in her bed after making love to her and had been in a good frame of mind. That is, until Tara broached the subject of leaving SAMCRO and Charming. To say that he was stunned was putting it mildly.

The discussion quickly escalated into an argument of epic proportions and Jax stomped out of her house. A week later, after getting the news that he and Ope would be patched in, Jax had gone to her house hoping that at the very least she would be happy for him. Instead, he found Tara was MIA and not returning his calls. After a week with no contact, Jax had given in and called and left a message on her machine inviting her to the party, but now, with Tara a no-show, Jax was starting to fear that she was out of his life for good.

"Hey, sugar." The sweetbutt who had made herself at home in his lap without an invitation bent over and nibbled on his ear. "Why don't you give me the grand tour of your new dorm?" Gigi smiled down at the young blond biker. "I've got a housewarming present for you." She said coyly.

Suddenly, Jax became enraged, but not at Gigi. It was Tara who should be here celebrating with him. Jax smirked to himself, feeling the effects of one too many shots of Jack. If Tara thought she was going to control him with pussy, then she had another think coming.

 _What the hell_ , he thought.

Standing up, Jax quickly threw the sweetbutt over his shoulder and headed for his dorm, to Gigi's utter and screaming delight.

* * *

"How's it looking under there, little darlin'?" Jax asked as he searched for an impact wrench on the work table behind the white Subaru Legacy. Hearing a muffled reply, Jax turned and looked down to see Jolene's booted-feet sticking out from underneath the car. "Are you gargling marbles 'cause I didn't understand a word of that."

Rolling herself out on the creeper she was resting on, Jolene wiped her sweaty brow leaving a grease smudge on her forehead.

"I said 'it looks like shit'. Leaking transmission fluid is the least of its problems. The whole front end of the chassis is corroded." Jolene put the wrench on her flat tummy and flashed rust-stained jazz hands at Jax. "Everything I touch turns to dust."

"Did you see where the leak's coming from?" Jax squatted next to her.

"Between the block and the transmission. The pushrod is missing a seal."

"We're gonna have to put it on the lift." Jax declared. "Good job." He smiled as he pulled a somewhat clean rag from the back pocket of his work pants and wiped the smudge off her face.

Sitting up on the creeper, Jolene cocked her head at Jax. "What's this 'we' business? I offered to help with the leak. Anything involving the lift sounds like an all day job."

"No good deed goes unpunished, little darlin'." Jax snarked, barely dodging the greasy rag Jolene chucked at his head.

"Yeah, I'm starting to learn that real quick around here."

"Maybe you need to screw up every once in a while 'cause you're getting too good for your own good." Jax advised.

"Eh, what else am I gonna do with my Saturdays?" Jolene replied, sitting with her elbows resting on her bent knees.

"How old are you again?" Jax cocked an eyebrow at her. "Because you sure don't sound like any teen I know."

Jolene pulled off her Reaper Crew cap and undid her ponytail in order to pull back stray hairs that were getting on her nerves. Watching her fuss with her hair, Jax leaned against the work table and lit a cigarette.

"What about you?" Jolene asked.

"What about me?"

"After last night, I sure wasn't expecting to see you up bright and early and working in the garage." Jolene replied.

"Trust me, after last night, I wasn't expecting that either." Jax started and contemplated leaving it at that, but as usual, he found himself wanting to share too much information with Jolene. "The patch party was great. It was the morning after that sucked."

"What happened?" She asked, momentarily distracted by the sound of a car entering the lot. Jax was about to tell her about getting busted with Gigi in his bed this morning by Tara, but Jolene suddenly squealed. Lying down again on the creeper, she pulled herself under the car. "Make him go away, Jax!"

"What?" Jax asked confused. He pushed himself away from the work table as he watched a black Camaro pull into a spot and a young man wearing an Excelsior Varsity jacket jump out of the driver's seat.

"That's Denny Williams." Jolene replied and Jax's ear perked up at the familiar sounding name. "He's gonna ask me to go to homecoming. Make him go away."

 _Oh yes I will_! Jax felt his eye twitch.

As Jax made his way to the garage entrance, Denny chuckled to himself. Even though he didn't know Jax Teller personally, he knew of him.

 _Great, now I'm going to have to get past Jolene's brother in order to talk to her_.

"Can I help you?" Jax flicked his cigarette and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yeah, maybe." Denny started. "I called the office earlier and was told I could find Jolene Morrow here at the garage. Have you seen her?"

"And you are?"

"I'm Denny Williams." Denny extended his hand, which Jax had no intention of shaking. After half a minute, Denny put his hand down. "I believe we spoke over the phone once."

Jax raised his eyebrows. "Oh, so you do remember. What? You here for that ride I offered?"

Denny smiled. He was really starting to dislike this guy, but he wasn't about to back down.

"No." Denny said simply, crossing his arms over his own well-muscled chest. "I think I made my reason for being here quite clear."

Jax flashed Denny a feral grin. "That makes two of us because I could have sworn I made myself _crystal_ clear to you before. Jolene's off-limits, so get back in your little cage and get the fuck off the lot before I wrap a chain around your neck and take you off the lot myself."

"Really?" Denny was still smiling. "Am I supposed to run and jump in my car because I'm afraid that the big bad biker will get me?"

"Run, don't run. No skin off my ass, but I _will_ kill you, if that's what you're asking."

Denny looked into Jax's steely blue glare and could see that he was being deadly serious.

Shaking his head slightly, Denny said, "Come on, man. All I want is to talk to Jolene."

Looking at the earnest kid, Jax could tell he wasn't half bad. Under different circumstances, he may have backed off (maybe not), but Jolene wanted him gone and gone he was going.

Backing up and without breaking eye contact with Denny, Jax yanked a heavy iron chain used to hoist engines out of cars off its rig. His eyes suddenly wide with panic, Denny maintained his cool, but threw his hands up.

"Okay, I get it. I'm going." Denny said before turning around and heading to his car.

"Was it something I said?" Jax called out after him, a grin threatening to split his face in half as he casually draped the chain over his shoulders.

Hearing the peeling of tires as Denny tore out of the parking lot, Jolene pulled herself out from underneath the car.

Seeing Jax wearing the chain like a feather boa, Jolene shook her head as she walked over to him. "Please tell me you didn't threaten to tie him to the back of your bike with that thing?"

"You told me to get rid of him." Jax exclaimed, the picture of innocence.

"Yeah, I did, but I didn't mean 'get rid of him'." Jolene emphasized with air quotes. "You probably shaved ten years off his life."

"Whatever works, right?" Jax smiled. "Come on, let's get back to work."

"Poor Denny. I sometimes forget how scary you can be." Jolene followed Jax to the rig and helped him thread the chain back on.

"Whaaat? You forget?" Jax said in mock disbelief. "I don't intimidate you?"

"Pffft! _You_ intimidate _me_?" Jolene laughed, hoping to sound casual. "Nah, you're nothing if not a big mush."

"Hey!" Jax pointed a finger at her. "Don't let that spread. Besides, I'm only nice to you."

"You're an ass, but thanks for getting rid of Denny for me." Forgetting herself, Jolene tiptoed and planted a kiss on his cheek. "I'll be right back. I'm gonna get the keys so we can move this thing onto the lift."

Taken by surprise, Jax shook his head and smiled as he watched her bounce into the office.

* * *

Jolene was sitting comfortably at the counter of Nicky's Diner sharing a basket of fries with her BFF. Between them sat a bowl of what Nicky called his special "fry sauce" but which was actually nothing more than ketchup, mayo, and Tabasco.

Donna was alternately dipping fries into the sauce and popping them into her mouth and shaking her head as Jolene finished telling her about Jax's run in with Denny earlier in the day.

"I don't get you, Jo. Denny's a nice guy. What's so bad about him wanting to take you to homecoming?" Donna asked, wiping her fingers on her napkin before taking a sip from her glass of Cherry Coke.

"First of all, I wouldn't be caught dead at the homecoming dance," Jolene started as Donna sighed exasperated. "And I already told you, I'm not looking for a boyfriend because I'm waiting for that special someone."

Donna paused as she was about to dip her fry. "So, it doesn't bother you at all that Jax has chased Denny away before today?"

Jolene rolled her eyes. "Are you kidding me? This just proves that he is in total denial about us. He knows I'm meant to be his, but he can't see past my age and the fact that our parents are married."

"Well, I don't know about all that," Donna replied. "But at the very least, now that he has scared Denny off for good, you shouldn't have any more problems with guys running you down for a while."

Jolene smiled. "That's the best part. Denny pulled out of the parking lot so fast, he's probably in New York by now." She cackled.

Donna shook her head as she looked at her friend. In her opinion, Jax's scare tactics, while supremely entertaining, were only a momentary stopgap. Although Jax didn't seem to recognize it, puberty was at work in one Jolene Morrow. Denny wasn't the only guy in Excelsior Prep who had noticed that Jolene was changing. Although Jolene's transformation was something of a slow burn, sooner or later, Donna was sure that it would explode and Jax would find it difficult in his capacity as an older stepbrother to stop the tide of Charming's young men from swamping the Morrows' doorstep.

Unfortunately for them, Donna was very sure of her obsessive friend. Jolene would be no more interested in them then than she was now.

Donna knew that when Jolene finally finished her transformation, Jax Teller had better look out, 'cause Jolene Morrow would be gunning for him, and if she knew her BFF, the poor guy didn't stand a chance.

* * *

With her father and Big Otto on a run to Eureka and Gemma and Luann having a girls' day at a spa in Stockton, Jolene was hanging out at the Clubhouse on a boring Sunday afternoon. Donna had gone out of town for her family's annual family reunion, so rather than hang out at home alone, Jolene gave Opie a call and had hitched a ride on the back of his bike to the T-M lot.

Sitting at the bar, Jolene watched with fascination as Piney knocked back what had to be his tenth shot of tequila, yet he managed to look as sober as a judge.

"Damn, old man," Opie shook his head. "It's only 1:00. Haven't you had enough already?"

Piney looked at Opie with red-rimmed eyes. "Son, believe me. When you've lived the life I have, waking up every morning still shocks the shit out of me. I'll be damned if I take waking up tomorrow for granted, so shut up and let me enjoy my drink 'cause each one may be my last. You don't like it, go shit a brick."

Chuckling, Jolene turned to Piney and said, "Eh, don't listen to him. Ope's just jealous 'cause I don't think he inherited the gene that can help him hold his liquor."

"Oh, and you can?" Opie shot back. However, when he saw the gleam of determination in her eyes, Opie held up a large index finger. "Jo, I love you like the sister I never had, so don't you even think about it or I'm gonna have to rat you out." He warned.

Jolene was no stranger to alcohol. Being brought up in the MC world, liquor was always readily available in the Clubhouse if one knew how to get to it. However, Jolene often had it right under her father's nose at their dinner table, taking sips of his beer when he wasn't paying attention.

The idea of learning how to drink tequila shots from a master sounded great to Jolene, especially since her dad wasn't around so neither she nor Piney would catch hell.

Quickly turning on the stool to face Piney, Jolene waved Opie off. "Don't be a mother hen, Ope. I can do this."

"Do what?" Jax strolled into the Main Room heading towards the bar as he shrugged into his cut.

Piney laughed. "My young friend here," He started, wrapping a meaty arm around Jolene's dainty shoulders. "Believes she can handle her liquor and I think this is something I need to see."

"Wait a minute, old man." Jax said exasperated. "Now I know you must be drunk if you think a 14 year old should be learning to drink that shit."

Piney waved off Jax's misgivings. "Ah, screw you! A girl needs to know how to handle her liquor and if there's anyone that can do it, it's this kid. I have no doubt that she can probably drink you two dicks under the table." Looking at Jax and Opie and giving them a quick wink, Piney roared at the Club's current Prospect who was manning the bar, "Hey, shithead! Bring another shot glass for my friend here."

Jolene beamed as the Prospect brought a glass and set it in front of her. Piney picked up the already more than half-depleted bottle of Patron and poured both him and Jolene a shot without spilling one drop, to the amazement of all four people at the bar.

Piney set the bottle down and picked up his glass. "Now, you could do this all fancy, with the salt and the lime and all that happy shit, but a real man prefers his tequila straight." Holding up his glass, Piney sighed. "Look at it, the color, the texture, the smell; it's a beautiful thing. Now," pointing a finger to Jolene, "Watch and learn." Piney brought the glass to his lips, quickly tipped his hand so that the liquid poured effortlessly into his mouth, hitting the back of his throat and creating a fiery trail to his gut. He slammed the shot glass upside down on the bar.

Piney looked at Jolene and smiled. "Your turn."

Jolene looked at Piney, Opie and Jax and then, just as easy as you please, picked up the shot glass and in a fairly good imitation of her teacher, knocked the tequila back and slammed the glass on the bar.

_Oh. My. GOD!_

As the fiery liquid blazed a trail down her throat, through her esophagus and into her stomach, Jolene gasped, trying to catch her breath and began to cough and retch.

_My mouth is on fire, my throat is on fire, my belly is a freaking volcano!_

Opie shook his head ruefully as he forcefully slapped Jolene on the back. "Just breathe, Jo, you'll get through it."

Jolene frantically waved him away. "What are you trying to do, beat me to death with those meat hooks of yours?" Jolene was finally able to come up for air. Her head felt dizzy, like she was swimming in a fog and her entire body felt like someone turned up the furnace. She was sweating and her mouth and nose burned from the liquor.

And then she turned to Piney. "Again!"

Piney let out a belly laugh. "That's my girl!" and poured two more shots.

Jax had had enough. "Okay, I think the bar is closed."

Turning to address Jax in order to inform him that he should mind his own damn business, Jolene swung her hand up to put it on her hip. Unfortunately for Opie, she missed.

Jax stood open mouthed as his friend went down like one of the Redwood trees on Elliott Oswald's land. Clutching at his balls, Opie let out a long moan as his father laughed hysterically. "Gawd, that had to hurt."

Jolene, whose head was currently spinning out of control, was too intent on getting her next drink down to notice the fact that she had knocked a patched member on his ass. Before Jax could stop her, the second shot followed the first.

For the first time in his life, Jax saw Jolene's complexion go from its healthy golden tone to a bright pink, followed by a pasty yellow, and finally a pale green. Weaving back and forth on the bar stool, with her hand clutched to her stomach, Jolene suddenly realized that her stolen sips of her father's beer had in no way prepared her for the gut-wrenching and mind-blowing feeling of 80 proof tequila.

When Jax saw Jolene clap her hand over his mouth and her eyes threatening to roll to the back of her head, he knew what was about to happen. Moving quickly, he swept Jolene up into his arms and ran for the Clubhouse bathroom. Bursting in, he dropped Jolene by the toilet bowl and held her thick and lustrous curls away from her face as the teenage girl bowed for the first time before the porcelain god.

And, thanks to Piney for opening Pandora's Box, it wouldn't be the last time Jax had his hands full of inebriated pussy in the form of his stepsister. Little did Jax know that eventually tequila plus Jolene would equal the love of a lifetime.


	4. First Love DOA

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sons of Anarchy.**

* * *

Banging reverberated in Jax's head. The morning after a Clubhouse party always wreaked havoc with his head. Jax gave another moan as he realized that the banging wasn't in his head, but on his door.

"Get the hell away from my fuckin' door." He tried to yell, but it came out more like a hoarse whisper.

The door cracked open. "You better have some clothes on and there better not be a ho-bag in there with you 'cause if there is, she's gonna have to hit the bricks." Easing the door open, Jolene stuck her head in to find Jax lying face first on an extremely rumpled bed.

_Thank God he's alone._

Jolene knew that she would have lost her mud had she found some naked whore draped all over the man that was destined to be hers. Knowing that Jax was a man-whore was just a tad bit easier to swallow than having to witness it first-hand.

Walking into his dorm, with a mug of coffee and a bottle of aspirin, Jolene looked down at the mess that she called the love of her life.

_This shit's is getting really tired._

Ever since the big blowout over a month ago that had resulted in the end for Jax and NP, now OP after 2½ long years, Jolene had been trying to get Jax sober to no avail.

Jolene had thought that with the end of the relationship, Jax would finally realize that he had made a great escape, but her poor mentally-challenged man was in deep denial.

All hell had broken loose the morning after the Patch Party. Tara, it seemed had finally had a change of heart and showed up that morning to apologize for not coming to the party. Unfortunately for Jax, depending on who was telling the story, Tara walked into his dorm and found him with Gigi still in his bed.

_Apparently, Jax had not learned the first rule of sleeping with sweetbutts: never let them stay the night._

Jolene couldn't blame NP for her righteous anger. She stormed out of the Clubhouse and that was the last time anyone had seen her. Not long after, however, Jax heard through the grapevine that 19 year old Tara Knowles was dating Second Lieutenant David Hale, who was on leave from the Marines before shipping out overseas.

Now Jolene was left to clean up the mess, which she was glad to do if it meant that Jax would finally see what had been in front of him all along.

At 15, Jolene had grown a little taller and had finally managed to spout some A-cup sized breasts, but her figure was still boyishly slim. Jolene had taken pains with her hair as she knew Jax had a fondness for it, but she knew that Jax still continued to see her as just his "little stepsister."

Sitting on his bed, Jolene put the coffee and aspirin on the night table and managed to shove Jax awake.

"Wake up, sunshine." Jolene chirped brightly. "It's morning."

A moan came from the bed. "Jo, get the hell out." Jax growled.

"I can't do that." Jolene replied briskly. Stepping over to the window, she yanked the blinds so that bright sunshine flooded the entire room.

The moaning turned into howling as Jax desperately tried to hide his face from the onslaught of the sun. Finally managing to pull a blanket over his head, he said, "When I recover from this, I am so going to kill you."

Jolene laughed. "No you won't 'cause, at the rate you're going, at this point it's _if_ you recover. Besides, I'm doing this for your own good, or did you forget that you're going out of town with the Club this afternoon?"

Jax eased the blanket off of his face and used one of his hands to rub the stubble on his face. He had decided to grow a goatee, but it was still in its early stubble stage. Jolene just knew that when it came in fully he was going to look so freakin' hot.

"Oh, shit. I forgot." Rolling over in the bed to face her, Jax had also forgotten that he was completely naked under the thin blanket. Jolene's eyes widened as she got the full view of a beautiful man basking in the early morning sunlight.

With his well-developed muscles and long, lean legs, Jolene's mouth went suddenly dry as she got the full view of his unfinished Reaper back tattoo, which was reflected in the mirror behind him, along with his well-defined and naked ass.

Swallowing hard, Jolene moved to retrieve the aspirin and coffee, which was exactly how Jax liked it—loaded with milk and sweet to the point of nausea. _How he can even taste the coffee is beyond me._ Jolene had been drinking coffee for about a year and loved it only one way—strong and black.

Trying to appear nonchalant, Jolene perched herself on the corner of the bed facing him at an angle away from the mirror, knowing she couldn't take another eye-popping glimpse of his ass. She handed him four aspirin and the coffee.

Sitting up, Jax threw back the aspirin and gulped down the coffee, which he noted was perfect. Looking at Jolene he managed a small smile. "What would I do without you?"

"Let's hope you never have to find out." Jolene replied. "I just wish you would listen and do everything I tell you to. It's for your own good, you know."

"Are you going to start bitching to me about—"

"OP?" Jolene shot back. "Yes, I am."

"I told you to stop calling her that." Jax said exasperated.

"Too bad. So not going to happen." Jolene crossed her legs confidently as she smiled cheerfully. "And do you know why? Because that's the way she needs to stay—old pussy."

"You better not let your father hear you talk like that."

"He wouldn't have to if you didn't keep making me repeat myself." Jolene retorted. "You are one of the smartest guys I know. I just don't understand why you can't get it through your thick skull that she is not the one for you."

Sitting up fully, Jax completely missed Jolene's gasp as the blanket fell even lower to barely cover his penis. "Look, OP is the right—damn it—I mean Tara is the right woman for me and I know that once we get this resolved and she forgives me for being an asshole, everything is going to be all right."

"All right?" Jolene scoffed, trying to keep herself from peeping at the blond short and curlies that were peeking out the blanket. An inch lower and someone was going to have to pick Jolene up from the floor. "You need to face reality. If she was ready for life in the Club, she would have stood her ground and dealt with you right then and there. Choosing not to deal with your shit, she ran out of here like the devil was on her heels, instead of doing what needed to be done."

"Which was what?" Jax retorted sarcastically.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe instead of running straight into David Hale's arms she should have dragged that sweetbutt out of your bed by her cheap extensions and went to town on your ass." _And, if it were me, I would've jumped into your bed and given you a million and one reasons why you'd never have to go back to any ho bag again. "_ She's not for you, Jax. She's too soft and can't deal with the reality of living the Life. If she truly loved you, she would realize that you are SAMCRO, instead of trying to change you. You wanna be with her, you're going to have to drag her kickin' and screamin' into the Life and that is not old lady material."

Jolene walked to the door and turned around. "I hope that one day you wake up from this fantasy world you've been living in with her before the person with whom you really need to be with isn't around anymore."

* * *

It was a Saturday night and Jolene was speeding down the I-22 in her new, but used cobalt blue Mustang with Donna. With a learner's permit in one hand and her best friend's legal driver's license riding shot gun, Jolene was living the teenage American dream. But instead of looking forward to a girls' night out in Lodi, Jolene was brooding over recent turn of events.

"I really hope this movie lives up to the reviews. It's supposed to be really funny and I'm really in the mood to laugh. No moody chick flicks for me tonight." Donna started.

Looking over at an unusually quiet Jolene, it seemed like her friend hadn't heard a word she said. Jolene had one hand on the wheel as she chewed on the thumbnail of her left hand. Donna reached over to turn down the radio, which was currently blasting her favorite song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

"If you're still upset over Jax, we should've just stayed home." Donna stated.

"I'm not upset about Jax." Jolene claimed, not too convincingly as she took her eyes off the road to glare at her friend.

"I never would have guessed. That's the most you've spoken since we left Charming."

Turning her attention back to the road, Jolene shook her head grimly. "We had plans tonight, D."

"I know." Donna replied, a little bummed out herself since the original plan for tonight was to hang out with both Jax and Opie, her own secret crush.

"What kind of bullshit is that, anyway?" Jolene said angrily. "They broke up almost three months ago. She started up with Hale almost as soon as she dumped Jax. Yet, he takes her back the minute Hale is sent overseas and she comes crawling back?"

"Maybe he really does love her, Jo. People do stupid shit when they're in love." Donna reasoned.

Jolene smirked to herself. _Donna doesn't get it_ , Jolene thought bitterly. _Nobody fucking gets it, least of all Jax_.

They could claim to love each other all they wanted, but true love means accepting the person you fell in love with as is. Both Jax and Tara had been guilty of trying to change the other to fit into their lives and their futures for the past three years. Jax wanted an old lady that loved the Life as much as he did. Someone that would understand when the road beckoned and he was gone for days, sometimes weeks at a time. Someone that wouldn't fall apart when the shit got real. That woman wasn't Tara, who had to know Jax's every movement, every minute of every day.

Tara wanted out of Charming. She wanted to leave behind the miserable existence she was convinced had sent her mother to an early grave. As much as she hated Charming and the influence the MC had over the town, she wasn't brave enough to leave on her own. She wanted to take Jax with her. That's why she had delayed college for a year, hoping that eventually she would be able to convince Jax to leave the MC and go to Chicago with her. That wasn't love. That was loving the idea of being in love and needing someone to fight your battles for you. The fact was that they spent more time fighting and making up than actually happy and acting like a couple in love.

Donna was right. Maybe they should have just stayed home tonight because her evening had certainly turned what should have been the best day of her life into a major letdown.

She still couldn't believe that the car she was driving was actually hers. After getting her learner's permit, thanks to Big Otto for teaching her how to drive like she would be operating a getaway car, it was only a matter of time before she had her license. But her dad couldn't wait until Jolene was officially licensed to drive.

Jolene had arrived at the T-M lot bright and early, as usual for a Saturday morning. Her father had been waiting for her at the entrance to the garage. Wrapping her in one of his big Papa Bear hugs that she loved so much, Clay had kissed the top of her head and reached into the inner pocket of his cut to pull out a small blue box with a gold bow.

"Just a small reward for passing." He said.

Jolene still remembered the feeling of stunned wonder at seeing the box, only to roll her eyes when she pulled out a Ford Mustang tear drop keychain.

"Cute, Dad. Really cute. So I guess this is going to have to hold me until I get my driver's license and I can score some real car keys, huh?" She snarked.

Clay smiled at his daughter. "Baby girl, I thought you were smarter than that. The keys are exactly where they should be." As Jolene quirked an eyebrow, Clay grabbed her by the shoulders and turned her around. It was a good thing that he had been holding her up.

Jolene gasped as a shiny cobalt blue Mustang with a huge bow on the front hood pulled into the lot. " _Oh my God, Oh my God, OH MY GOD!_ " Jolene was dangerously close to hyperventilating as the car pulled to stop in front of her and out popped Jax.

"It's mine, it's really mine?" She squealed as she jumped up and down.

"Well, since you have a keychain, I guess it might as well belong to you." Hugging his daughter to him, Clay smiled happily. "Now remember our agreement. You follow all the traffic rules and no lead foot, right?"

But Jolene was not perfect and like any teenager who had been presented with their own car, all such talks, agreements and promises quickly left her head as she broke free from her father to race around to the driver's side to hop in. Jax had jumped into the passenger seat, requesting a demonstration of her driving skills. Jolene had gunned it out of the lot and onto the highway as she and Jax talked about making plans to hang out later tonight with both Donna and Ope.

Jolene had played it cool, but she couldn't help but notice the furtive looks Jax was throwing her way as they drove back to Charming. Dropping Jax off at the garage, Jolene had headed to Donna's to show off her new car and to recruit her friend into giving her the makeover Donna was always nagging her about.

Jolene had been floating on cloud nine until she made her way back to T-M and spotted Jax talking to Tara, who was leaning against his bike. It looked intense and no one was smiling, so Jolene was caught completely off guard when Jax buried his hands in Tara's hair and pulled her in for a kiss.

Jax hadn't actually bailed on their plans for the night because Jolene hadn't given him the chance. She bailed on him first, not giving him the chance to break their "date" because Jolene knew what that kiss meant. They were back together and the last thing she wanted was for Jax to confirm it because there was no way Jolene was going to be supportive or diplomatic about it. Their three-month break up was just a dry run. The next time Tara left, Jax was going to be blindsided and Jolene wasn't sure she would be able to pick up the pieces again because her own heart broke every time she saw them together.

Destiny or not, there was just so much a girl was willing to take.

* * *

Jolene halfheartedly danced around the ring feeling pretty unmotivated.

Wearing a pair of sweatpants, a tank top, protective headgear and a pair of boxing gloves, Jolene haphazardly took direction as Chibs tried to refocus her energies on the task at hand.

Outside the ring, Opie and Tig shouted encouragement as Chibs stood in the ring throwing punches and barking out instructions. While in the past, Chibs had taken time to show her a tip or two on how to protect herself, tips that Jolene had put to good use in her school battles, Chibs had finally decided to keep a promise he had made to Jolene when she first came to Charming and for the last few weeks, he had been training her in the art of boxing.

Jolene had been extremely enthusiastic at first and was a great student, making rapid progress. But Jax's recent reconciliation with OP had devastated her. Adding insult to injury, Jax asked OP—now RP, as in recycled pussy—to get his crow and the bitch said yes! Jolene was pretty sure that getting Jax's ink had more to do with Tara wanting to rub being chosen by Jax in the face of every single woman in the Clubhouse. Jolene was convinced that it was no more than a status symbol and less a permanent sign of commitment on her part to their relationship. Either way, it didn't matter.

Tara Knowles was now officially Jax Teller's old lady.

Suddenly, Jolene felt a hard jab hit her alongside her protective headgear. Shocked, she looked up to see an angry Chibs, who had managed to sneak a right jab through her sadly lacking defenses.

"What's wrong with ya, luvvie?" Chibs demanded. "You're standing there like you aren't even here."

Jolene sighed. "I'm sorry, Chibs. I guess I've got stuff on my mind."

"Well, get it off then!" Chibs demanded. "Lass, you need to focus your rage. Get angry. Think about someone whom you'd like to pound to freaking dust and then hit me. Now get your arms up and let's go!"

Jolene sighed and got into position, dancing around the ring. As she turned to the left and faced the front of the lot, she saw Jax and RP ride in. Parking his bike, Jax playfully pulled Tara out of the seat, then piggy-backed her to the Clubhouse, obviously heading for what was sure to be a lively bang session.

As Jolene heard Tara's high pitched squeals, a rage inside her burst forth and with no warning, Jolene shot a one-two combination that caught Chibs square in the face. Almost knocked off of his feet by the impact of the unexpected blows, Chibs staggered once, then twice, before righting himself.

Amid the bursts of laughter and hollering of Opie and Tig, who, if they had blinked would have missed it, Chibs slapped Jolene on the shoulder.

Rubbing his sore jaw, Chibs crowed, "Now that's what I'm talking about 'lil luvvie. Where the hell did that come from?"

As Opie's eyes followed Jolene's gaze, who was still watching the couple heading towards the Clubhouse, Opie quietly remarked to Tig, "I bet ya fifty bucks I can tell you where."

"No deal. That's a sucker bet." Tig smirked.

* * *

"You know, I see some great benefits to this new gig of yours." Jolene said as she sipped on a free Cherry Coke.

"You know I'll always hook you up." Donna replied cheerily as she slid into the booth opposite Jolene. "Just don't expect it all the time."

It was late afternoon in Nicky's diner, the only decent family restaurant in town. Donna had been working at the diner for two weeks and already she was quickly coming to be known as the best waitress in the place.

The diner was quiet at the moment with the dinner crowd not expected in for a couple of hours, so Donna could kick back and relax with her best friend. And it was good timing to Donna's way of thinking. She had news to share and only her best friend would do.

"So, you drag me down here to spill some intense drama, so drop it on me. I'm all ears." Jolene said as she finished her soda, with a loud sucking noise.

"I've got a confession to make."

"Really? Well, if it's about a certain 6'4 biker I know, you can stop right there. I know all about it." Jolene rolled her eyes at her friend's gasp. "What? Did you really think I didn't know you have a major crush on one Opie Winston?"

Donna leaned back in her seat. "I thought that I hid it rather well, actually." She replied sheepishly. "After all, since you've had your head up Jax's ass for the last three years, I didn't think you noticed." She drawled.

"Hey, one obsessive stalker knows another one when she sees her." Jolene shot back.

"Well, here's something you don't know, bitch—I think he likes me back."

"Shut Up! When did this finally happen?"

Donna giggled excitedly. "He's been showing up every day for breakfast going on two weeks now—in this very station— _my station_."

"You biatch! He's been coming here every day for two weeks and I'm just finding this out now?" Jolene crossed her arms and gave her friend the stink eye.

"Look, my bad, but you've been a little down in the dumps lately about Jax getting back together with—" Donna hesitated.

"DON'T say her name!" Jolene interrupted.

Donna continued, "So I didn't want to rain on your parade with my good news."

"D, you should know me better than that. I'm not about to be mad that your love train has finally pulled into your station. The two of you have been circling each other for a couple of years. I'm just surprised that Opie has finally stepped up to the plate." Jolene leaned against the diner's table. "So, when are you gonna let him get to first base?" Jolene leered.

"Nasty!" Donna cackled. "I'm a good girl. I don't know where this is headed, but I know I'm going to take my time getting there. As it is, it's going to be hard enough getting my parents on board. For some reason they seem to think that SAMCRO's no good."

Jolene sighed to herself but kept quiet. She loved Donna like a sister, but the reality was that she was an outsider and there was no way that she could tell her about the true nature of the Club. That would be Opie's job.

"All I can say is, if Ope is what you want, then you better go for it. Believe me, when the opportunity presents itself, I _will_ make my move on Jax."

"Jo," Donna said hesitantly, but Jolene cut her off.

"D, I know you think I should give it up, especially after what's happened, but I told you. It's my destiny to be with him. It's just taken me some time to understand some hard truths."

"And those would be?" Donna inquired.

"That in order for Jax to truly appreciate me, he's going to have to go through this 'relationship' phase with RP until it goes through its final death throes. I've come to understand that Jax needs to go through this first love bullshit and suffer the pain when it finally crashes and burns. It's horrible and unpleasant and terrible, but there you have it. He _needs_ to go through all this drama with her so that when he finally sees me, he recognizes me for what I am—the best damn old lady to ride bitch on his bike. _Ever._ Granted, I'm suffering having to watch this play out now, but if it means that eventually he will be mine, I can wait."

_I can wait forever if I have to._

* * *

Jolene stood over the bed looking down at her first and only love and wondered just how long she was going to have to put up with this shit. It had been six months since Tara Knowles had fled the small town to find her destiny in Chicago and Jolene couldn't be happier. The woman who had been the bane of her existence for three years had finally left Charming, and Jax, for college, but her ghost was still haunting him.

Six months was more than enough time to get over this bullshit, or at least that was Jolene's take on the situation. But just as she predicted, Jax had not seen it coming and was having a tough time dealing with the reality that she wasn't coming back. Ever since she had left, Jax spent most of his waking moments more drunk than sober. It seemed that his penis was in constant go mode and there was always plenty of pussy in the Clubhouse, and elsewhere, just waiting for the privilege of spreading their legs for him.

Jolene had known that the aftermath of Tara's departure would be difficult on Jax, but she simply had no idea that it would get so out of control. It seemed that Jax two favorite pastimes were booze and pussy. Between his constant solo runs to Reno and his visits to Cara Cara, even the croweaters and sweetbutts at the Clubhouse were in a frenzy as they hardly got to see him, never mind his dick. It seemed as if he was hardly ever at the Clubhouse anymore, except for Church, which was why he finally showed up on Thursday night.

_How he managed to make it here from Reno without killing himself is a mystery to me._

Opie had called the house to let Clay know that Jax had finally shown up, but it was Jolene who had answered the phone. Jolene was pretty sure that Jax was in no condition to see anyone, especially not his President, and decided to let him sleep off whatever poisons he was trying to kill himself with and wait until the next morning to deal with his bullshit. Enough was enough.

Driving down to the Clubhouse in her new Mustang, Jolene pulled into the lot and spotted Opie sitting at the picnic table eating one of Bobby's blueberry muffins.

"Hey," Jolene said as she sauntered over to the table. Grabbing one of several muffins Opie had on a paper towel, she bit into one. "Thanks."

With eyebrows raised, Opie replied, "I don't remember offering."

"You didn't," Jolene shot back cheekily. "If I had waited to be asked, I wouldn't have got any." Sitting across the table, she looked at Opie. "So, how did it go last night?" Jolene wriggled her eyebrows suggestively.

"I'm a gentleman. I don't kiss and tell." Opie replied, referring to his first official date with Donna.

"Hey, I'm not asking you to tell me what color the panties were." Jolene snarked.

_I know my best friend. She won't be giving up the goods to you any time soon. Besides, I'll get that kind of 411 from Donna._

"Good, 'cause I didn't see any." Opie smirked, but the young biker realized that that was okay. If he wanted easy, there was a Clubhouse full of easy always available. Opie wanted a relationship.

He had always enjoyed hanging out with Donna in a group. He could tell she was different. Not only was she pretty, she had an outgoing personality, his exact opposite. Opie was reserved and quiet and having Donna around had brought out a different side of him. She was smart, energetic and had a wry sense of humor. Even though the date was nothing overly special, just dinner and a movie in Lodi and then a ride home on his Harley, Opie had really enjoyed himself. Even before he had dropped her off at home, he had decided not to press her for a kiss, so he had been pleasantly surprised when Donna reached up and grabbed him by his beard to give him a tender kiss on the lips before running inside. She had tasted sweet, like strawberries.

 _I have a feeling it's going to take a long time for me to get to first base._ Opie smiled to himself. _But I think it's going to be worth it._

Jolene echoed his sentiments. "Good. Anticipation is a very good thing for you two." _Believe me, I've been waiting three long years._ "It's character building."

Opie quirked an eyebrow. "Really?" He drawled.

"Uh huh." Finishing her muffin, Jolene changed the subject. "So can I assume that our resident drunk and pussyhound is in his dorm?"

Opie sighed. "Yeah, although I don't know what condition he's in."

Jolene rested her chin in her hand. "Ope, I just don't get it. It's not like she was all that and a bag of chips. I knew she wasn't cut out for the Life and she's proved it by running off and leaving him. Why is he still mourning her?"

Opie shrugged his shoulders. "First love B.S. dies hard, I guess. I think he'll get over it eventually. It's just going to take some time."

"Yeah, but in the meantime he's gonna wear his penis down to a nub." Jolene retorted.

Opie tried to stop the laugh from coming out, but it came out as a snort. "I don't think he minds that right now."

Giving him the stink eye, Jolene rose from the table and headed off to the dorm to do some damage control. All jokes aside, Jolene was afraid that Jax was really dealing with the whole Tara situation rather badly. The last thing she wanted was for him to go completely off the deep end and mess up his standing in the Club and with his President, or even worse, do some long-lasting damage to himself.

After the last time she had gotten the eye-popping view of Jax's manly attributes, Jolene knew she needed to prepare herself mentally. She didn't want to act like the totally hormonal and completely obsessed teenager she knew she appeared to be the last time around. So it took her a good ten minutes to psych herself up in order to treat him as a snarky and bratty younger sister before she had thrown the door open.

_Thank God. At least this time he's got some clothes on._

Jax had apparently come in the night before and fell flat on his back in his bed fully clothed, including his sneakers. He reeked of liquor, weed, and pussy.

Looking at her watch, Jolene realized that she had less than two hours to get him clean and sober for Church. _Desperate times call for desperate measures_ , she thought grimly. Picking up a wastebasket filled with garbage, Jolene emptied the contents and went into the bathroom.

* * *

Jax was in a dream world, an alcoholic haze from which he didn't want to awaken from when suddenly a sheet of icy cold water was unceremoniously dumped on his head.

"Son of a bitch!" He nearly gasped as he leapt off the bed. Whirling around he saw his stepsister, with one hand cocked on her hip and the other holding his garbage can.

"Morning." Jolene said cheerfully. Looking at her watch, she tsked, "Actually, it's afternoon now. I couldn't find your alarm clock in this mess, so I thought using this would be best." Putting the garbage can back in its proper place, she crossed her arms underneath her very small bosom. "Had a good night's sleep?"

"Are you fucking crazy, Jo?" Jax demanded as he used his hands to slick back his sopping wet air from his face before dropping onto his back on the bed.

"No, but you must be to show up here looking and smelling like you do when you have Church in less than two hours."

Suddenly, the clanging in Jax's head became a loud roar and a feeling of nausea started churning in his belly. He put his hand to his mouth and in a flash, Jolene grabbed the garbage can and ran to him. Pulling him into a sitting position on the bed, Jolene shoved the garbage can into his arms. Jax held onto it as if it were a life preserver as he violently threw up the contents of his stomach.

Holding back the longer strands of his hair, Jolene held onto him as his stomach continued to heave. Finally, the ordeal seemed to be over and Jax wearily leaned back on his bed.

Quickly, Jolene ran into the bathroom to dispose of the noxious waste. Returning to the room, she managed to get Jax to sit up while she gently cleaned his face with a wet washcloth.

Realizing that there was no way around it, she told herself to get a grip and in a no-nonsense tone demanded, "Strip."

Although still drunk, Jax realized that probably wasn't a good idea, but Jolene was insistent. "Now, Jax." Not giving him a chance to argue, Jolene bent down and started with his sneakers.

It took about ten minutes, but Jax was finally sitting on his bed wearing nothing but his boxers. Jolene handed him a glass of water. "Sip that very slowly."

In an effort to keep herself from passing out at the sight of a nearly-naked Jax, Jolene bundled up all of his dirty clothes, managed to find some clean ones, and put them with his cut on a chair in the corner of the room. Jolene worked quickly to put the rest of the room in order, making Jax stand so that she could strip the bed of its soiled bedding and remake it with some fresh linen she had found. Finally, shoving him back onto his bed, Jolene stood over him.

"How long are you going to let that bitch twist you up?" She demanded.

Jax rubbed his face tiredly. "She's not."

"Really, 'cause from this here, that's not the impression I'm getting. Look, she bailed on you because she was never right for you from the get. And in your heart, you know I'm right because if you didn't, you would have left Charming and went off to Chicago with her. This Club and this family is your home, Jax. She's not like Tommy or your Dad. If they had a choice, they never would have left you. She left of her own free will and there's no need to punish your mother, your family, or yourself because she's gone."

Squatting in front of Jax, Jolene tenderly reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind his ear. "You know, nobody likes an 'I told you so,' so I'm not going to say it, but just promise me one thing, okay?"

Jax nodded tiredly. "What?"

"Please don't go all Kurt Cobain on me, huh?" Jolene replied with a catch in her voice. "I really couldn't take that shit."

Giving Jolene a crooked smile, Jax reached out with both hands and ran his fingers through Jolene's mass of black curls. "Darlin', there's nobody I love that much to go off that ledge for."

Seeing the emotion in his eyes, Jolene trembled slightly. "Glad to hear it. As far as I'm concerned the subject of NP, OP, RP is officially over. Let's just pretend that the last three years never happened. It was just a violent, horribly disgusting nightmare, never to be thought of or mentioned again. Deal?"

"Deal." He winked at her.

Feeling a little weak-kneed, Jolene stood up to her full height, turned and headed for the door. "Why don't you get in the shower while I put on some coffee? Clock's ticking with only ninety minutes before Church is in session. I don't think you want my Dad or your brothers seeing you in this condition."

As Jolene pulled the door closed behind her, she heard Jax making his way to the bathroom.

 _It's going to take a little time for him to get his shit together_ , Jolene thought as she walked towards the kitchen to fix Jax some coffee. _But I can wait._

_I'm not going anywhere._

**_~ To Be Continued ~_ **


End file.
